President Urges International Action Amidst State-Sponsored Violence, Honors Journalists

During a briefing at the Orbeliani palace the President of Georgia addressed the ongoing violence in Tbilisi and across Georgia, condemning the mass violations of both the Georgian Constitution and relevant international human rights laws. The President condemned a number of initiatives announced by the ruling Georgian Dream party regarding the hiring and firing of civil servants. She also awarded journalists covering the protests in Georgia with medals for Civil Courage.

The President also slammed several legal initiatives announced by the ruling Georgian Dream party, such as the proposed law banning the wearing of masks by peaceful citizens, saying it would deny them the right to protect their health and safety. At the same time she pointed that the authorities are not addressing the issue of wearing of masks by thugs, known as “Titushky,” allegedly affiliated with the police, or the absence of identification marks by the police, who were often seen at protest sites engaging in acts of violence.

Zurabishvili also condemned the government’s initiative to simplify firing the civil servants through the reorganization the civil service in a way that would make it easier to dismiss employees, particularly after civil servants had publicly condemned Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s decision to halt Georgia’s EU integration until 2028.

She criticized the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ decision to simplify the hiring process by, inter alia, removing the requirement for diplomas, saying this is dong to facilitate hiring of the new “titushky”. “This seems to be becoming the norm in this country,” she noted in an apparent reference to the new presidential candidate, who does not have a university degree.

She condemned as a human rights’ breach the today’s SSSG statement, which claimed that the unnamed “organizers of destructive and criminal acts” plan to resort to extreme forms of violence this week, including a “sacrifice of 2-3 people” to disrupt the inauguration of the new president. The President said this statement was aimed at terrorizing the citizens.

The President warned that the lack of protection for basic rights in Georgia has put the country’s future at risk. “Today, the response to all of this is deciding not only the future of Georgia, but the future of this region is also being decided” she stated.

Zurabishvili emphasized that on December 10, the International Human Rights day, she had sent a summary report to international partners and human rights organizations, documenting the brutal reprisals against citizens, and called on the Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to send an internationally led monitoring mission to Georgia to observe judicial proceedings “so that citizens are not left alone with an illegal and unjust system.”

According to the President the document was sent to:

• Volker Türk– the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
• Gina Romero- United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association
• Irene Khan– UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
• Alice Jill Edwards- UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
• Matthew Gillett – UN Chief Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
• Maria Telalian – Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
• Jan Bratu– OSCE Representative on Media Freedom Affairs
• Michael O’Flaherty– Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe,
• Teresa Maria Ritter– European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Zurabishvili also expressed gratitude to journalists, many of whom were targeted by police and state-paid thugs while doing their job during the protests. “You are the window through which we see what is happening,” the president said, acknowledging the journalists’ efforts to cover the ongoing popular protests amid a climate of repression. The President then awarded Medals for Civic Courage to some of the journalists covering the ongoing protests. Several dozens media workers have been subject to police violence, and detentions over past two weeks, some of them seriously injured.

The large-scale protests that erupted in Georgia on November 28 were triggered by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s decision to suspend the country’s EU integration until 2028. In response, riot police used excessive force against peaceful demonstrators, deploying tear gas and water cannons when it was unnecessary. Protesters have been reportedly physically assaulted both during and after their arrests.

The Public Defender of Georgia has condemned police brutality and assessed the treatment of the detained as torture, and as a clear violation of international human rights standards.

Also Read:

• 07/12/2024 – GYLA Speaks of “Systematic and Violent Repression” Against Citizens
• 03/12/2024 – Watchdog Details “Inhuman and Degrading Treatment” Against Protesters by Police
• 03/12/2024 – Civil Society Foundation Calls for Immediate Stop to Police Violence
• 02/12/2024 – GYLA: Instead of Maintaining Law and Order, MIA Commits Crimes
• 01/12/2024 – CSOs: Physical Force Used Against Protesters Amounted to Torture

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