Court finds Georgian journalist severely beaten by law enforcement officers guilty of disobeying police

The Tbilisi City Court found Aleksandre Keshelashvili, journalist and photographer for the online media outlet Publika, guilty of disobeying the police and issued him a verbal reprimand.

The Interior Ministry originally charged Keshelashvili with petty hooliganism and disobedience to the police. On Monday, the petty hooliganism case was dropped.

Speaking to TV Pirveli, Keshelashvili said that he was expecting that the court would find him guilty in at least one case.

‘We knew that in any case I would be recognised as a violator’, he said. ‘[The court’s] assessment is that “we did the best we could”, as if I should be grateful that they didn’t [fine] me and put me in solitary confinement’.

In a Facebook post on 29 November, Keshelashvili wrote that upon his detention, he tried to tell the police that he was a journalist, but said that it only made the police — who were masked — insult and beat him more.

Keshelashvili said that the police confiscated his cameras, press ID, and gas mask.

After being taken to the police station, he learned that he was being detained under administrative law.

Keshelashvili did not agree with the detention report filled out by the police and refused to sign it, media reported.

According to him, the police filed a report claiming that Keshelashvili had confessed, but Keshelashvili denied that he had done so.

‘[The police report claimed] as if I was swearing loudly and insulting the police. Such a lie. I didn’t sign it, and after that they took me to the clinic’.

Publika reported that after the episodes of detention and beating, Keshelashvili underwent surgery on his nose. The Special Investigation Service (SIS) has launched an investigation into the violence against him.

According to RFE/RL, the SIS concluded that Keshelashvili was hindered in his journalistic activities.

Following the government’s EU U-turn after the October elections, Georgians across the country have continued to hold daily protests, now for more than 100 days. Human rights activists in Georgia have suggested that more than 400 demonstrators may have been detained during November and December alone — a large number of whom claim that they were subjected to physical or psychological abuse by law enforcement officers.

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Throughout the demonstrations, journalists and citizens have documented numerous incidents of law enforcement officers using physical force against demonstrators, including journalists, several of whom suffered serious physical injuries after being assaulted by riot police.

According to local media, hundreds of fines have been issued against demonstrators, and more than 50 criminal cases have been opened on various charges.

To date, not a single law enforcement officer has been held accountable.

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