Watchdog Says Criminal Code is Used Punitively Against Protesters

The local watchdog, the Georgian Association of Young Lawyers (GYLA), has released a report that says the prosecution and courts manipulated criminal charges and delayed criminal proceedings in a way to repress protests. The report is based on fifty criminal cases against demonstrators, including six individuals arrested during protests against the controversial foreign agent law in April and May and 38 detained during the dispersals of manifestations in November and December 2024. As many as 400 protesters were arrested during the protests, but most were on administrative charges.

The report says the criminal charges are usually filed for organizing, managing, or participating in group violence, harming the health of a police officer, and damaging or destroying property. Several concerns are particularly noted.

Analysis of the criminal proceedings against the individuals charged during the protests against the foreign agents’ law shows that the investigation was dragged out, and the court hearings were often postponed for extended periods. GYLA says that the deliberately slow pace was chosen to prevent President Salome Zurabishvili – whose term expires in December 2024 – from pardoning the activists once sentenced. Such delays, the watchdog says, cast doubt on the impartiality of the prosecution and courts.

Another highlighted problem is the almost exclusive use of the most severe preventive measure – detention -during the investigation. The report notes that the prosecution routinely requested and judges accepted detention as a preliminary measure, even though it is prescribed by law under specific circumstances (such as when the accused may flee or otherwise influence the proceedings). The prosecution’s requests for detention did not consider key factors such as the individual’s age, health, family circumstances, and social status. Some of the detained protesters were the sole breadwinners or caregivers for family members with health issues. The prosecution only formally referred to legal reasons without justifying the risks, such as evading justice, destroying evidence, or committing new crimes.

In addition, the prosecution routinely used the aggravating circumstance of committing the charges as a part of “an organized group” despite the lack of evidence showing coordinated or collective action. The report says several individuals were accused of isolated acts at different times and places, with no evidence to suggest mutual knowledge or intent. GYLA questions the validity of the charges under Criminal Code Article 225 (Organization, management, or participation in group violence), given the prosecution’s failure to demonstrate a clear connection between individual acts (like throwing objects) and collective violence.

The report warns that such punitive application of the criminal prosecution could, in the hands of the prosecution, become a tool for restricting freedom of expression and political persecution.

GYLA report also highlights several instances of mistreatment and torture. Opposition leader Aleko Elisashvili, Saba Skhvitaridze, and Revaz Kiknadze are named as victims of abuse, with Skhvitaridze allegedly beaten twice in detention and Kiknadze subjected to psychological and verbal abuse.

Finally, the report condemns the “systemic failure” of the Special Investigation Service to act according to its mandate on cases of police violence against protesters and journalists. Despite the clear evidence of violence, GYLA says no investigations have been launched, and the perpetrators remain unidentified. GYLA of the Special Investigation Service to act, suggesting its complicity in the violence against protesters and journalists.

Also Read:

• 24/12/2024 – Tear Gas, Violence, and Medals: HRW Slams GD Government Response to Protests
• 23/12/2024 – CSOs Decry Abuses in Georgia’s Criminal Justice System, Call for Accountability
• 19/12/2024 – RSF: Shocking Impunity for Violence Against Reporters in Georgia
• 07/12/2024 – GYLA Speaks of “Systematic and Violent Repression” Against Citizens

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