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Georgia: Watchdog groups document systematic government abuses [1]
['Irakli Machaidze']
Date: 2025-05
A man covers his eye while held by the police during a protest dispersal in Tbilisi in December 2024. (Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/oc-media.org, CC BY-NC 4.0)
A report compiled by watchdog groups documents systematic rights abuses by security forces in Georgia, adding that the Georgia Dream government seeks to “reduce the remaining space for dissent and continue its rule indefinitely.”
The report, published by the Georgian Young Lawyers Association with the help of 10 other civil society groups, disputes the validity of last fall’s parliamentary election results, which cemented Georgian Dream’s control over the legislature and government. It characterizes the incumbent government as “unconstitutional.”
“Since 2023, Georgia has been on the path to establishing a semi-consolidated authoritarian regime, which is ruled by the ‘Georgian Dream,” the report begins. “The parliamentary elections of 26 October, 2024, [were] the culmination of the anti-human rights policies and the capture of the democratic institutions.”
Released on May 14, the report focuses on government efforts to contain mass protests that erupted in late November, after Georgian Dream officials suspended constitutionally mandated efforts to seek European Union membership. Covering a three-month period in late 2024 through early this year, it draws on public records, firsthand accounts from victims, and interviews with 117 individuals, of whom 78 percent reported experiencing “violence and ill-treatment” at the hands of police.
“The forms of police violence, their intensity, regularity, and scale indicate the widespread and systematic nature of torture and ill-treatment,” the report contends.
One 32-year-old man described being threatened with rape and torture: “They told me they’d strip me naked, rape me, and set off fireworks on my naked body. … We’ll find your address and rape your wife and children.”
Many victims described experiencing similar threats, creating an impression that it was routine practice employed by law-enforcement officials against those in police custody.
In March, prominent opposition leader Elene Khoshtaria, after being detained during a protest, said; “I was grabbed by two policemen, they forcefully restrained me, and stripped me completely naked.” Another interviewee recalled being crammed into a windowless minibus with other detainees, where officers sprayed pepper spray and shut the door. “We were in the minibus for about an hour,” he said.
The report indicates that journalists were specifically targeted for abuse. One was told bluntly; “it’s exactly because you’re a journalist, that’s why we’re doing this.” The report blames government-led smear campaigns for fueling these attacks and documents 108 cases of violence against media workers.
Officials’ use of repressive methods goes beyond the streets. The report highlights politically motivated firings in the public sector, abuse of surveillance tools, and harsh, new laws providing for administrative detention and heavy fines for alleged violators of public order. Between November and March, over 1,600 people faced administrative proceedings, more than 60 were criminally prosecuted, and fines exceeded 2 million GEL (about $720,835).
“Responsibility for the ongoing repression lies with Georgian Dream, led by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili,” the report concludes.
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[1] Url:
https://eurasianet.org/georgia-watchdog-groups-document-systematic-government-abuses
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