International experts say severity of harm inflicted on Georgian detainees ‘may constitute torture’

International experts say severity of harm inflicted on Georgian detainees ‘may constitute torture’

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The UN has published a report by independent experts, calling on the Georgian government to investigate protesters’ allegations of ill-treatment by police, including excessive use of force and torture.

The six experts, all of whom are UN special rapporteurs, published their statement on Tuesday.

They urged the Georgian government to take measures to prevent further violence against those detained during the latest wave of protests against the government’s decision to halt EU accession.

In the statement, the experts say that they have received allegations of intentional physical violence, threats, intimidation, and retaliation against peaceful protesters, human rights defenders, and journalists, at the hands of Georgian law enforcement and ‘others without uniforms or identifying insignia’.

They warned that the scale of the allegations and the gravity of the harm reportedly inflicted on protesters and and others detained after demonstrations may constitute torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.

Human rights activists in Georgia have suggested that more than 400 people could have been detained during demonstrations against the government in November and December — a large number of whom claimed that they were subjected to physical or psychological abuse by law enforcement officers.

Political tensions in Georgia have been on the rise since the official results of the October 2024 parliamentary elections gave Georgian Dream a large majority, with 54% of the vote. All four major opposition parties have since contested the results and boycotted parliament.

Large-scale protests across the country erupted on 28 November, when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that the country was halting its EU membership bid ‘until the end of 2028’.

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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has announced the country is halting its EU membership bid ‘until the end of 2028’. In a press briefing on Thursday, Kobakhidze said the issue of opening accession negotiations with the EU would not be ‘on the agenda’ during the current parliament.’ He a…

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In their statement on Tuesday, the UN Special Rapporteurs said that the information they have received ‘suggests that these incidents may not have been isolated and point to command responsibility’.

‘There are credible reports that the police fired rubber bullets, used water cannons, pepper spray, and other chemical irritants indiscriminately against the demonstrators. Hundreds of people were reportedly injured, with an unusually high proportion suffering serious head and facial injuries’, the statement read.

They have additionally cited reports of detainees being ‘verbally abused, subjected to prolonged and repeated beatings, threatened with rape or the breaking of body parts, and denied medical care’.

Despite noting that the Special Investigation Service (SIS) has launched investigations into reports of mistreatment at the hands of the police, the experts said ‘this investigation does not appear to have produced any outcome, while many protesters remain in detention’.

They have also called on the Georgian government to release of those who had been ‘unjustly detained’, and to report on ‘concrete measures taken to prevent torture and other cruel,  inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including during peaceful assemblies and in places of detention’.

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Demonstrators detained by police during the protests in Tbilisi have noted a systemic pattern of police brutality.

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