Day: April 19, 2024

Twelve of the 13 protesters detained by the police during the April 16-17 protests against the “foreign influence” law were “severely beaten,” according to the monitoring of the Democracy Research Institute (DRI), a watchdog.

“The detainees have serious body injuries, including concussions, traumatic arthritis of the jaw, injuries to upper and lower limbs, multiple bruises, contusions, cuts, lacerations,” the DRI said in its April 19 statement. The DRI also said that two of the detainees remain hospitalized in serious condition. The watchdog added that people’s personal belongings were lost or damaged during the arrests, which were carried out with “unlawful and illegitimate” use of force by the riot police.

The DRI also noted that the detentions were routinely extended from 24 to 48 hours, which “served the purpose of punishing the demonstrators, prolonging the severe physical pain inflicted on them and/or an attempt to hide their injuries from society.” The Code of Administrative Offenses of Georgia authorizes the exceptional extension of the 24-hour detention period before the detainee is presented to the court if more time is required to find evidence.

DRI said the detainees’ rights under multiple articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, such as “Article 3 (prohibition of torture), Article 5 (right to liberty and security), Article 10 (freedom of expression), and Article 11 (right to assembly and association)” were violated and called on the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Tbilisi City Court and the Special Investigative Service to take appropriate actions:

• Ministry of Internal Affairs – to stop the illegal arrests of the assembly participants and to fulfill its obligation to ensure the protection of the assembly participants;
• Tbilisi City Court – to stop proceedings against the peaceful demonstrators and to declare the illegality of their detention, as the publicly distributed video footage proves the improper treatment of the demonstrators;
• Special Investigative Service – to investigate the facts of violence and abuse of power by the MIA representatives objectively and within a reasonable time and to grant the illegally detained demonstrators the status of victims within the framework of the investigation.

Also Read:

• 17/04/2024 – Georgian CSOs Denounce Police Brutality and Illegal Arrests During April 16 Protests
• 17/04/2024 – Riot Police Pursue, Attack Online Media Journalists
• 17/04/2024 – Photo Story | Riot Police Use Pepper Spray to Break Up Protest Against “Foreign Agents Law,” Arrest Protesters

Transparency International – Georgia made a statement on April 19 concerning the controversial Tax Code amendments, adopted in the third reading by the Parliament earlier the same day. The statement says that “it is possible that the reason for these legislative changes is the interests of the founder and honorary chairman of the ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili.” The watchdog also states that at the same time, these changes will increase the risk of inflow of criminal and Russian capital into Georgia.”

The statement notes that according to the proposed amendments, which were adopted on an expedited basis, in case of transfer of assets of a company registered in a country with preferential taxation (offshore) to a Georgian company, a number of tax benefits are established for the company.

In particular:

• Within the asset transfer operation, the income received by the offshore registered foreign enterprise and its owner natural person is exempt from profit and income tax;
• Importation of assets or goods into Georgia is exempt from import duties;
• Georgian companies, which receives assets from offshore, are exempt from property tax until January 1, 2030.

The watchdog notes that the explanatory note to the legislative amendment does not provide arguments as to why it was necessary to review the existing amendment in an accelerated manner.

Transparency International says that “the initiation of the said legislative amendment in parallel with the “Russian Law” and the accelerated proceedings raise doubts that its purpose is to facilitate the transfer of the assets of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s offshore companies to Georgia”.

The statement notes that Russian businessmen and oligarchs often use the practice of offshore companies, and with the current legislative change, they will also be given the opportunity to transfer their assets to Georgia with tax benefits.

TI-Georgia notes, that “since the tax relief applies to the import of goods owned by an offshore company, it also applies to goods that may not be related to business activities – for example, high-value and luxury items such as works of art.”

The organization cites its own 2021 study found that Bidzina Ivanishvili owned 20 offshore companies, and notes that because of the opacity of offshore companies, TI-Georgia has for years called for the creation of a registry of beneficial owners of offshore companies, which would reduce the risks posed by anonymous ownership of these companies. Anonymous ownership, in turn, increases the risk of corruption, including tax evasion.

TI-Georgia says that the authorities became interested in the future risks of offshore companies only after the adoption of the “Russian law” significantly increased the likelihood of sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili and people close to him from Western countries.

The statement notes that offshore companies are often attractive to individuals with assets of questionable origin, and if Georgia implements a regime facilitating the transfer of assets from offshore, it should also set a high standard of transparency. The identity of the persons transferring assets from offshore to Georgia should be public.

TI-Georgia also notes that the hasty adoption of the law , without extensive discussion on the issue, initiative clearly shows Bidzina Ivanishvili’s influence has on the executive and legislative authorities.

Reuters:  France should repay billions of dollars in reparations to Haiti to cover a debt formerly enslaved people were forced to pay in return for recognising the island’s independence, a coalition of civil society groups said on Thursday.

The Caribbean island became the first in the region to…

In a recent development, Russian peacekeepers have commenced their withdrawal from Azerbaijani territories, a move confirmed by both Russian and Azerbaijani officials. The deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the region was initially slated to end by the conclusion of the following year. Yet, amidst these withdrawals, speculation has arisen regarding…

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— Arab News (@arabnews) April 19, 2024

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