CSOs Joint Statement Condemning Arrests, Torture, and Repression in Georgia

Eleven Georgian CSOs have issued a joint statement condemning the widespread arrests, torture, and alarming levels of repression currently taking place in the country. The CSOs said that they are actively assisting detainees by providing access to legal assistance, with all collected data being shared with diplomatic corps and international human rights organizations.

According to Eka Gigauri, Executive Director of Transparency International Georgia, more than 460 people have been detained across the country since November 28. Of these, 430 face administrative charges, while 31 have been charged with criminal offenses. The NGO reports that more than 300 people have been tortured or ill-treated, with more than 80 requiring hospitalisation. 10 foreign nationals have been arrested. The detainees, who range in age from 15 to 60, are often subjected to harsh punishments, including fines of GEL 2,000-3,000 (approximately USD 700-1,060) and detentions of 4-14 days. Gigauri further highlighted that due to overcrowding in Tbilisi detention centers, many detainees are transferred to prisons outside Tbilisi, making it extremely difficult and time-consuming for lawyers to locate their clients, “which is an absolutely unbelievable fact,” Gigauri said.

Judges rule exclusively based on testimonies of the police, with the defendants’ evidence almost never is taken into account. In all cases, the judges refuse sending the relevant notice to Special Investigation Service, although the defendants bear the obvious signs of violence and torture. The judges don’t allow the accused to talk about the conditions in which they have been kept in the detention centers or during the arrest, or talk about the facts of torture, saying that it does not concern them.

Eka Gigauri also stressed that none of the policemen are held accountable for the abuse and violence. The masked people associated with the police are beating people in the streets, there are no investigations into these cases. Illegal searches are taking place and there is no reaction from the authorities.

“There is systematic torture, inhuman and degrading treatment of citizens. Hundreds of people, including journalists, have been subjected to torture and inhuman treatment,”- said Nino Lomjaria, founder of the civic platform ‘Georgia’s European Orbit.  She stressed that all these violations, including mistreatment of citizens and journalists, have been documented, including on video, and shared with international partners. The NGO sector also reports illegal searches and large-scale repression, including legal repression, to international human rights organizations. This includes illegal searches and abductions of citizens.

Lomjaria highlighted cases of torture and condemned the impunity that surrounds such acts: “Torture is absolutely prohibited, and not only the perpetrator but also those who supervise it must be held accountable,” adding that the crime of torture also includes the failure to investigate it, and stressing that authorities and judges who continue to support or overlook these violations are “complicit in the torture process”. She said all information related to these cases, including the names of the perpetrators, would be shared with international partners.

Large-scale protests erupted in Georgia following Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s announcement to halt EU integration, sparking mass protests that began on November 28. Over the past 13 consecutive days, the Georgian government has used a variety of tactics, including the violent dispersal of rallies, using tear gas and water cannon, illegal raids and searches of opposition forces’ offices and activists’ houses, arbitrary detentions, violence against journalists and interference with their professional activities. Masked individuals, allegedly affiliated with the state and known as “titushky”, were also reported to have committed acts of violence at protest sites.

There have been multiple reports of police officers using excessive force against peaceful demonstrators, with many protesters suffering head injuries. The Public Defender has condemned such acts of violence and called for an end to brutality against peaceful demonstrators. In response to these violations, the Baltic States and Ukraine have already imposed sanctions on the Honorary President of the GD, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Prime Minister Kobakhidze and Interior Ministry officials responsible for the violence.