Sanctioned Interior Minister Appointed as Vice-PM, as MIA Blames Protesters for Violence
On December 20, GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze appointed Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri – an official sanctioned the day earlier by the U.S., as well as by the U.K., Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia– as Vice-Prime Minister of Georgia. Gomelauri has been accused of issuing orders that violated the human rights and freedoms of demonstrators, media representatives and the opposition, including during the mass anti-government protests over the past three weeks. Meanwhile, the MIA, denies violations by the police and blames the demonstrators for attacks on the law enforcers.
In the statement issued on December 20, the Ministry complains that CSOs and the opposition are spreading “false accusations” about police practices in dispersing protests with the aim of “discrediting the agency and law enforcement officers.”
The Ministry claims that in a number of cases the protests turned violent, accusing the demonstrators of bringing stones, pyrotechnics, iron constructions, etc. to the protest with the aim of attacking the police officers, and also stating that such “illegal objects” were also found in the offices of the “rally organizers”.
The MIA states that only after the “violation of the peacefulness of the assembly would take on a mass character”, the law enforcement agencies would use special measures “prescribed by law to de-escalate the situation”. The ministry claims that in each case where special means were used, the demonstrators were warned in advance with official statements and special sound equipment. This claim however, is easily disproved by the numerous live footage.
Regarding the injured detained protesters, the MIA says that “the police arrested violent individuals who often resisted law enforcement officers,” and as a result, both protesters and police were injured. The MIA says that 171 MIA workers were injured during the protests, 10 of whom required surgery, 40 were injured by rocks thrown at them, and about 60 were injured in one way or another by the pyrotechnics used by the demonstrators.
The MIA claims that ‘in parallel with the violent actions of the protesters on Rustaveli Avenue and its surroundings, a number of criminal acts have been recorded’, including robberies, theft of personal belongings and damage to the facades of various buildings on Rustaveli Avenue, amounting to hundreds of thousands of GEL.
Regarding the “alleged cases of excessive use of force by police officers”, the MIA says it is cooperating with the investigation launched by the Special Investigation Service.
Regarding the information spread by the media and the detainees about the police taking away the personal belongings of the detained demonstrators, the MIA says that according to the paragraph 2, Article 26 of the Police Law and Article 249 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, the police have the right to temporarily take away the personal belongings of the detainees or to restrict their access to them. The MIA claims that the detainees were given back their belongings after leaving the detention centers, which contradicts the testimonies of many of the detainees.
The police actions both during and after detention, described as inhumane and ‘torture’, against peaceful demonstrators and media representatives have caused a huge outcry in Georgian society. The human rights watchdogs pointed out that the police participating in the dispersals have their faces covered and don’t wear any insignia, making it virtually impossible to identify the perpetrators of violations. The monitors also point to the involvement of unidentifiable “men in black” in the dispersals, who accompany the riot police and actively hunt down and beat protesters. Moreover, there have been reports and footage showing alleged coordination between the patrol police and the state-paid thugs attacking the protesters, media, and opposition.
To date, not a single law enforcement officer has been arrested for attacking, beating, and using excessive force against protesters or media representatives.
Also Read:
- 19/12/2024 – Former MIA Official Reveals MIA and Special Tasks Department Methods of Protests Handling
- 18/12/2024 – CSOs: MIA Pre-planned Brutal Methods for Crackdown on Protesters
- 10/12/2024 – CSOs Joint Statement Condemning Arrests, Torture, and Repression in Georgia
- 09/12/2024 – Testimonies of Police Brutality During Ongoing Rallies
- 06/12/2024 – Georgian Opposition Unites to Launch Registry of Illegal Detentions and Police Brutality
- 06/12/2024 –Detained Activist Says He’s Been Coerced to Incriminate Opposition Leaders, Declares Hunger Strike
- 03/12/2024 – Watchdog Details “Inhuman and Degrading Treatment” Against Protesters by Police
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