World Organisation Against Torture: GD Coordinated State Policy of Repression Against Protesters

Several international and local human rights organizations have documented systematic and indiscriminate violence against pro-EU demonstrators in Georgia between November 28 and December 8, 2024. The fact-finding mission, uncovered severe human rights abuses, including excessive police brutality, inhumane detention conditions, and politically motivated prosecutions targeting activists, journalists, and opposition figures. It revealed that the GD authorities had coordinated a state policy of repression against peaceful protesters, “involving all branches of government.”

The briefing note was published by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). It includes the findings of the fact finding mission, which was carried out from 17 to 24 December 2024 by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), along with the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) and the Independent Forensic Expert Group (IFEG). The Omega Research Foundation and local Georgian watchdogs supported the study, including GYLA, the Georgian Center for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GCRT), and the Partnership for Human Rights (PHR).

Findings of the Mission

The mission’s findings highlight an unprecedented level of police violence during protests following the GD government’s suspension of Georgia’s EU accession process in November 2024. The crackdown included excessive force, arbitrary arrests, politically motivated prosecutions, and legislative restrictions targeting demonstrators.

It argues that all these measures “reflect a coordinated state policy” involving all branches of GD government, including Ministry of Interior, and investigative, prosecutorial, and legislative bodies and the judiciary.

According to the report, riot police with the criminal and patrol police units used “extreme physical abuse” and “psychological intimidation” against the protesters, and in some cases, the arrested individuals were subject to inhumane detention conditions.

The mission also documented “prolonged beatings to the face with brass knuckles and feet, the use of so-called “beating corridors”, forced stress positions, denial of medical assistance, and threats of killing and sexual violence.” It also notes that law enforcement used excessive force indiscriminately, including against minors and people with disabilities.

The report indicates that the authorities took deliberate preparatory measures before dispersing protests, such as “modifying police vehicles into improvised torture sites.” “To prevent accountability,” police units did not wear insignia, and identification marks were removed from some police equipment.

Despite abundant evidence, Georgian authorities have failed to hold perpetrators accountable, even in cases where video recordings clearly identified abusive officers, according to the report.

“The investigative authorities took no action in response to a publicly available video recording, clearly showing the Head of the MIA’s Special Tasks Department beating a protester,” the report states.

In some instances, the Ministry of Interior “obstructed justice by withholding evidence and ignoring summonses regarding allegations of torture, thereby reinforcing impunity.”

“Hundreds of individuals were arbitrarily arrested, many subjected to short-term incommunicado
detention without access to legal counsel,” the report reads. It adds that the evidence obtained by the OMCT reveals that “detainees were frequently coerced into signing false confessions under duress.”

The report also criticized judicial proceedings that “systematically disregarded evidence of torture and defence motions, imposing harsh fines and administrative detentions based solely on police testimonies.”

The findings also show that in the absence of state rehabilitation services, the victims of police abuse are left reliant on civil society or private medical providers, who, in turn, operate “in an increasingly hostile environment.” In addition, the report criticizes the FARA law, which, along with other repressive laws, was passed by the GD parliament in the final reading on April 1. It argues that the legislation “will have devastating consequences for the rule of law in Georgia, further leaving victims of torture and other gross human rights violations unprotected.”

Recommendations

The report urges international bodies, including the UN Human Rights Council, the OSCE, and UN member states, to condemn Georgia’s “systematic practice of torture” and calls on Georgian authorities to:

• Ensure protesters’ rights to peaceful assembly and enforce the absolute prohibition of torture;
• Limit police force to “last resort” measures that align with international standards;
• Require police officers to wear visible identification and properly label equipment;
• Investigate torture cases “in a timely, independent, impartial and adequate manner”;
• Provide victims with medical treatment, psychosocial support, and compensation;
• Release all unlawfully detained protesters;
• Abolish recent legislative changes “restricting freedom of assembly and association, and freedom of expression.”

For international actors, the report recommends the following:

• Monitor court hearings of detained protesters
• Establish investigative mechanisms such as the OSCE Moscow Mechanism
• Support Georgian civil society organizations documenting abuses
• Consider targeted sanctions such as economic sanctions as well as travel bans against officials involved in human rights violations

Methodology of the Study

The fact-finding mission conducted 15 in-depth interviews with victims, including two injured journalists, three interviews with lawyers, seven interviews with local civil society organizations and experts, and a meeting with the Public Defender of Georgia.

“The briefing note’s findings have been cross-checked and confirmed by evidence from independent sources, including documentation from local CSOs, media reports, and assessments by international human rights bodies,” the report explains.

For more details, you can read the full report here.

Also Read:

• 2025 | Chronicle of Repression
• 01/04/2025 – GD Rubber Stamps FARA, Broadcasting Law Changes, Revives Treason, Removes Gender, Excludes CSOs
  20/12/2024 – ODIHR Final Report Reiterates Multiple Concerns over October 26 Elections, Calls for Concrete Action
• 10/12/2024 – CSOs Joint Statement Condemning Arrests, Torture, and Repression in Georgia