TORTLADZE v. GEORGIA

Communicated on 18 December 2013 THIRD SECTIONApplication no. 42371/08Ermile TORTLADZEagainst Georgialodged on 14 August 2008STATEMENT OF FACTS THE FACTS1.  The applicant, Mr Ermile Tortladze, is a Georgian national, who was born in 1964 and lives in Tbilisi. He is represented before the Court by Ms M. Shatirishvili and Ms N. Margieva, lawyers practising in Tbilisi.A.  The circumstances of the case2.  The applicant was serving as Honorary Consul General of Côte d’Ivoire in Georgia at the material time. It appears from the case file that he was also performing the functions of a consular courier. The facts of the case, as submitted by him, may be summarised as follows.3.  On 24 August 2005 the police arrested A.I., a former head of security at the Consulate General of Côte d’Ivoire (“the Consulate”), and a consulate lawyer at the material time, on suspicion of unlawful possession of drugs …