Civil society organizations have released a comprehensive joint statement detailing significant concerns about the criminal procedures against detained individuals in Georgia. The monitoring report highlights disturbing trends, including allegations of severe psychological and physical abuse of detainees, judicial bias and a lack of accountability for law enforcement officials accused of violence, torture and inhuman treatment.
According to the statement, more than 30 people have been detained on criminal charges, with many subjected to the harsh preventive measure of detention. “However, no law enforcement officials have been arrested for their alleged role in the violence, inhuman treatment and torture of hundreds of protesters and journalists,” said Nino Lomjaria, founder of the CSO European Orbit of Georgia. “At the same time, members of an informal gang that abused the youth have been released on bail by the court”.
According to Lomjaria, the protesters and their lawyers speak of a number of violations in the conduct of the investigation and proceedings.
“Among other things, they point to the facts of illegal searches of personal and residential premises, cases of ill-treatment by police officers during and after detention.
Some of the detainees speak of severe psychological pressure and physical punishment after detention (for example, the cases of Saba Skhvitaridze, Revaz Kiknadze, Nika Katsia, Aleko Elisashvili and others).
The protesters are being prosecuted under Articles 225 (participation in group violence), 187 (damage to property), 353 Prima (assault on police officers), 18-229 (preparation of an explosion), 156 (persecution), 260 (possession of drugs in large quantities) of the Criminal Code. The above articles provide for imprisonment (4 to 6 years, 7 to 11 years, 8 to 20 years) and some provide for life imprisonment.
It is noteworthy that two participants of the protest were arrested on charges of illegal possession of a particularly large amount of narcotics. The lawyer of one of the detainees states that the police illegally searched the person returning from the protest without witnesses and without video recording and found drugs, while the other detainee points to both the presence of drugs and the degrading treatment and pressure after the arrest,” said Nino Lomjaria.
In addition, CSOs highlighted a number of procedural violations in the judicial process, including the issuance of identical indictments by the prosecution that failed to establish individual culpability, relying instead on general references to group violence. They pointed to errors in arrest records, such as discrepancies in the time and place of arrests, and violations of detention conditions.
Londa Toloraia, one of the leaders of My Vote, noted that some defendants were reportedly repeatedly arrested outside the yards of detention centers shortly after being released from administrative detention. Imprisonment was used against all detainees who reported inhumane treatment. In a number of cases, investigations are carried out on an urgent basis or at night, which is not necessary.
Londa Tolaraia noted that all those arrested have been remanded in custody, while members of informal gang groups have been released on bail by the prosecution with the support of the court.
Judicial bias was another major focus of the statement. Toloraia pointed to “suppressed evidence”, lack of transparency in hearings, and judges uncritically adopting prosecution arguments without sufficient justification. “Judges allegedly offer no rationale for severe preventive measures like imprisonment,” she said.
The joint statement named several judges suspected of acting under political influence, describing them as individuals “acting at the behest of the ruling party”. The judges turn a blind eye to defence evidence, ask leading questions, etc. and are biased in favour of the prosecution. The judges identified are Tamar Mchedlishvili, Irakli Khuskivadze, Davit Kurtanidze, Lela Maridashvili, Levan Kolbaia, Nana Shamatava and Davit Mgeliashvili.
Toloraia stressed that the principle of public hearings had also been violated, as the hearings were held in small rooms, despite the high public interest in these cases.
Civil society organisations called for immediate accountability, an independent investigation into the alleged abuses and measures to ensure a fair and transparent judicial process.
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