HRW Representatives Urge EU to Sanction Georgian Officials, Calls for Independent Investigation

In a statement, Human Rights Watch (HRW) representatives have called on EU foreign affairs ministers who will discuss Georgia on December 16 to demand an independent investigation into Georgia’s response to ongoing protests and to impose sanctions on officials responsible for violence against protesters.

Giorgi Gogia, Associate Director, and Iskra Kirova, Advocacy Director of HRW’s Europe and Central Asia Division, warn that the government’s “heavy-handed” response to protests “risks plunging Georgia further into a human rights crisis.”

The statement urges the EU to use the EU’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime to sanction officials responsible for authorizing and carrying out beatings and violence against Georgia’s protesters.

It adds, that “sanctioning authorities should happen in parallel with stepped-up, flexible democracy support for civil society and media.” The statement also calls on the EU to consider imposing Schengen visa requirements for Georgian government officials and diplomats and increase democracy support for civil society and media.

Despite domestic and international pressure, the government is intensifying the crackdown, the authors write. The statement says that authorities have employed teargas, water cannons, and rubber bullets against protesters, with police beating and detaining largely peaceful demonstrators.

The authors also highlight the attacks on opposition and independent journalists by riot police and “violent mobs presumably associated with authorities.”

“The EU has deplored authorities’ repressive actions, but it’s time for decisive steps. The EU should seek independent investigations into the post-election violence by experts from the Council of Europe and the United Nations, calling on them to examine the unlawful use of force, arbitrary detention, and the mounting evidence of ill-treatment and torture,” – the statement says.

“As the Georgian people look to the EU in their aspirations, EU leaders should show them more than moral support. Concrete and decisive steps are needed to prevent Georgia’s human rights crisis from further escalating,” the statement concludes.

The EU Foreign Affairs Ministers are scheduled to discuss Georgia at a meeting on December 16.

Also Read:

• 21/08/2024 – HRW Criticizes Georgian Government Over Failure to Investigate Attacks on Critics
• 10/12/2024 – EU Spokesperson Demands De-escalation, Warns of Consequences
• 11/12/2024 – Liveblog: Resistance | GD MP Gorduladze Pushes Innitiative to Ban Lasers During Protests

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