GYLA: State Institutions Are Involved in Crimes Against Humanity

The local watchdog Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) issued a statement saying that systemic and violent repressions against the civilians should be assessed as the crime against humanity, which can provide grounds for applying to the International Criminal Court.  

The watchdog says that “the coordinated repressive measures against thousands of Georgian citizens in various cities became evident during spontaneous protests” starting from November 28, the day PM Kobakhidze announced the U-turn from the EU accession path.

The GYLA says that “unlawful dispersal of peaceful protesters has been taking place every single day, which cannot be considered as a police measure, but rather due to its scale, it constitutes an organized crime.”

The watchdog says that “these actions are accompanied by widespread arbitrary arrests and targeted persecution.” It notes that “numerous evidence and witness statements confirm that the special punitive units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs surround protesters, block their escape routes, and indiscriminately beat them, among whom, women, minors and persons with disabilities have been subjected to severe treatment and deliberate violence.”

Members of the media, including journalists representing international outlets, are being targeted and subjected to severe ill-treatment.  

The statement says that “all of the above-mentioned is accompanied by the inaction of the investigative authorities, the persecution and pressure exerted on public servants; the encouragement and praise of punitive forces of the MIA by the Government officials; the continuous government propaganda, the promotion of anti-Western ideology, and the demonization of protest participants.”

The watchdog says that considering the scale of increasing repression and systematic violations of human rights, the current developments might constitute a crime against humanity prescribed under Article 7 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court,” citing in particular, acts of torture that are perpetrated through widespread and systematic attacks directed against the citizens.

“There are instances of persecution against the civilians based on political and discriminatory grounds, along with other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body and/or to mental or physical health,” the statement says.  

Not only there is no independent mechanism remaining within the country to effectively investigate this crime, but on the contrary, “there are grounds to believe that the state institutions are directly coordinately involved in commission of the mentioned crime”, says GYLA, which it says is confirmed by the following facts:  

• The Ministry of Internal Affairs, despite the publicly available footages of torture, refuses to enumerate the police officers involved in the dispersal of the manifestations with distinguishing marks; 
• As of today, the Special Investigation Service has not identified any responsible individuals; as of today, the public has not been duly informed regarding the content of the investigative and procedural steps taken by this institution; as of today, no criminal prosecution has been initiated against the police officers, who committed violence against the protesters and/or journalists;
• The courts are delivering the blanket decisions, without considering individual circumstances and, through administrative sanctions, they are punishing unlawfully arrested protesters and victims of torture.

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