GYLA: Dispersal Unlawful, Inhumane and Involves Disproportionate Force

The watchdog Young Georgian Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) said in its statement that the protests on Rustaveli Avenue are being dispersed with the usual unlawful and disproportionate use of force. There is evidence of violations of the norms for the use of active special means, including the targeted use of pepper spray in the face and the mixing of two special means, a water cannon and a chemical irritant.
This practice is highly problematic, says the watchdog, for a number of reasons.

In particular, GYLA notes, that it is not known what the acceptable concentration of a chemical irritant in water is that poses a significant risk to human health; when clothing is soaked with a chemical irritant, a person cannot escape its effects; in addition, when a person’s clothing is soaked, it is impossible to control the level and duration of exposure to a chemical irritant. Given that health risks increase with the concentration and duration of exposure to chemicals, mixing water and chemicals violates the duty of law enforcement to minimize harm. In addition, the watchdog said, the use of cold water jets is an inhumane treatment given the low outside temperature.

“We once again call on the officers of the Ministry of Interior to disobey illegal orders and to stop dispersing peaceful demonstrators in a manner that is tantamount to a crime,” GYLA said. It further called on the Ministry of Interior to make public the means it is using, including for medical purposes, so that medical personnel have the opportunity to respond appropriately to the injured.

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