Day: December 2, 2024
On December 2, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), a veteran watchdog and legal aid outfit, issued a statement stressing that the police are using dangerous practices such as using teargas indoors, encircling demonstrators instead of dispersing them, and continuing to obstruct the work of journalists. They say these practices violate human rights and show that instead of maintaining law and order, the MIA is committing crimes.
According to the watchdog, the special forces used water cannons and tear gas against peaceful demonstrators on December 1-2 in more than ten separate instances. Worryingly, tear gas was used against people indoors on Besiki Street in Tbilisi, which is particularly dangerous for health. Demonstrators also reported that an unidentified chemical irritant was added to the water from the cannons, which caused a burning sensation.
Cases of deliberate obstruction of journalistic work were again recorded, including the targeted use of water cannons by riot police against media representatives, breaking their video cameras, physically assaulting them, and arresting them.
GYLA particularly notes the arrests of online media journalist Giorgi Chagelashvili and the lawyer Giorgi Davitauri, head of the rule of law and media freedom program at the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), another watchdog.
The GYLA notes that the most worrying practice is that the special forces encircled the demonstrators and charged instead of dispersing them. The watchdog stresses that during the dispersal of rallies, special forces are obliged to leave space for demonstrators to leave the area safely.
“Given the brutality of the special forces in recent days and the practice of sieges, which are categorically incompatible with human rights, we would like to clarify that instead of maintaining law and order, the Ministry of Interior is committing a crime,” the statement concludes.
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