Shimkus said the traveling delegation received assurances from the government officials with whomthey met that Loren Wille will be treated in accordance with Georgian law. Those meetings includedNuzgar Sajaia, Secretary of the National Security Council, the second-highest position in Georgiangovernment, and Rusudan Beridze, Deputy Secretary on Human Rights Issues for the National SecurityCouncil.
"While knowledge about the details of Mr. Wille's case varied from person to person, it is clearhis situation is familiar to those in government," Shimkus said. Grassley said he remains committed toadvocating on behalf of Wille. "I intend to follow-up on opportunities for additional communicationstemming from the delegation's trip," he said.
Grassley said the goal of the five-day journey was to assess the ongoing investigation, providemoral support for Wille and ensure that the case is being handled in accordance with Georgian law. Observers expect that local law enforcement's investigation of the Wille case will be completed within twoto three weeks. Wille then will appear before a judge in the rural district of Khasuri.
According to the staff report provided by Shimkus, the instances of human rights abuses found bylawyers for Wille have occurred during this investigative phase. "We found that most of the legal reformsmade in Georgia have taken place within the judicial process rather than within the investigative processthat is conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs," she said.
Grassley said the trip to Tbilisi sponsored by the Catholic Relief Services was important because"the strength of the group demonstrated the unity of U.S. opinion on behalf of Loren Wille." Thedelegation, which included Carl Foreman of CRS, Wille's sister-in-law, Meg Wille of Belle Plaine, Iowa,and Sarah Dietch of Sen. Tom Harkin's staff, met with Wille, family members of the deceased, the U.S.Ambassador to Georgia, Georgian government officials, and representatives of non-government humanrights organizations.
Shimkus said that Wille is free to move about Tbilisi and joined their group for evening meals. In addition, the sisters of Manana Tsomashvili, the woman who died in the accident, also joined thegroup on two occasions. She said these sisters expressed to the delegation their distress about the chargesleveled against Loren and have advocated his freedom.
Grassley has been seeking fair treatment for Wille since late July. He asked congressionalappropriators to condition foreign aid to the Republic of Georgia on fair treatment of Wille under Georgianlaw, in addition to spearheading letters to government officials and organizing meetings to develop strategieson behalf of Wille.