On December 18, CSOs representatives held a briefing to expose how the ruling Georgian Dream party planned the “systematic torture of peaceful demonstrators.” The Executive Director of Transparency International Georgia, Eka Gigauri, the Executive Director of Georgia’s European Orbit, Nino Lomjaria, and the Head of the Rule of Law Center, Londa Toloraia, reported that based on the evidence provided by the lawyers of the detained protesters and publicly available information, they believe that the Ministry of Interior had predetermined brutal methods and a system of torture as a measure to discourage protests, prior to November 28.
MIA tactics
According to the CSOs, the Ministry of Interior used a variety of aggressive tactics, including jets of water mixed with unknown substances, pepper spray, tear gas, and other means to disperse tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators. While in some cases the use of force was preceded by warnings to disperse, in others it began with direct pursuits and arrests. Tear gas was used in large quantities, causing severe breathing and vision problems, widespread panic, and the risk of stampedes. Demonstrators were sometimes surrounded with no way to escape the tear gas, pepper spray and water cannon. During dispersals, riot police arrested people indiscriminately, even targeting those trying to leave the area. In some cases, demonstrators who obeyed dispersal orders were ambushed, surrounded and arrested.
Abuse during and after detentions
During the arrests, special forces subjected detainees to severe physical abuse, continuing the violence after they were taken into custody and placed in detention vehicles designed in a way to facilitate beatings. Groups of Special Forces took turns entering the vehicles to further assault detainees, targeting sensitive areas such as the face, head, ribs, and kidneys.
This abuse was orchestrated by a supervisor who dictated the methods and intensity of the violence. In addition to physical assaults, detainees were robbed of their personal belongings, including clothing, telephones, and wallets. In some cases, detainees were subjected to additional inhumane acts, such as being locked in vehicles with gas canisters or being doused with cold water after being beaten.
Detainees were also verbally abused, threatened with death, rape, or serious injury, and humiliated through degrading acts, some of which were videotaped. One particularly egregious case involved threats to kill and bury a detainee in the Lisi Lake area in Tbilisi. Testimonies reveal a systematic pattern of torture, inhuman treatment and psychological abuse aimed at breaking the spirit and dignity of detainees, with reports implicating Zviad Kharazishvili (aka “Khareba”), head of MIA’s Special Tasks Department, in personally documenting the humiliation.
After being physically assaulted, detainees were handed over to patrol police, who transported them to police stations and, hours later, to detention centers. Overcrowding forced many severely beaten, stripped and soaked detainees to wait in vehicles for long periods, sometimes more than three hours, while some were transferred to detention centers in other cities. Detention records often contained false information, and detainees were denied timely medical care or access to lawyers and family despite visible signs of torture. Judges often failed to ensure detainees’ right to a fair trial, even after the 48-hour detention period.
According to the CSOs, the administrative violation protocols prepared by the police after the detention of the demonstrators are often templated and lack specificity, with identical language and repeated errors used to describe alleged violations, indicating they were allegedly filled in according to pre-written instructions. These protocols fail to specify the exact time or place of the alleged violations, referring vaguely to areas such as “Rustaveli Avenue” or “near the Parliament”. They do not specify the words considered offensive under the Law on Freedom of Speech and Expression.
Police testimonies
In court, police witnesses give general and identical testimony claiming that detainees used insults such as “slaves” or “Russians,” but often contradict each other when two witnesses are present in the same case and fail to name what legal orders the detainees allegedly disobeyed. Despite the availability of surveillance cameras, video evidence is often missing, with claims that the cameras were turned off, got discharged, or damaged. Arrest reports often contain false information, including the involvement of officers who were not present at the alleged incident.
Some police officers testify to witnessing certain incidents, however the video footage provided by the defense shows that they were not in the area at all. In some cases, arrests have been carried out by unidentified special forces on orders that have no clear legal basis. Judges and state officials often assist police witnesses during court proceedings, avoiding critical questions from defense lawyers. In addition, the circumstances under which detainees were injured are not investigated and police fail to adequately justify their actions in accordance with the law.
The watchdogs name eight police officers who they have identified being false witnesses: Giorgi Charekashvili; Tornike Menabde; Sulkhan Kiknadze; Revaz Tsurtsumia; Zviad Margvelani; Zurab Gharibashvili; Davit Miruashvili; and Otar Gelashvili.
“The NGO Hotline has received information on the administrative detention of more than 450 people. The majority of them, about 300 citizens, are victims of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. According to the Public Defender of Georgia, out of 327 detainees met by representatives of his office, 225 claim to have been victims of ill-treatment, 157 of whom had visible physical injuries,” the watchdogs conclude.
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