Amnesty International: 'Charging five police officers over violence in Georgia is not enough'
Amnesty International on protest violence in Georgia
“Justice and accountability require more than the arrest of five law enforcement officers accused of violence against demonstrators,” said Denis Krivosheev, deputy director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International, in response to the launch of an investigation into alleged violence during the 2024 protests in Georgia.
He said the detention of only a handful of individuals did not reflect the scale of abuses that the organisation had recently documented against peaceful protesters, journalists and government critics.
Krivosheev described the launch of the investigation as an important step, although one delayed by around 17 months. He said Amnesty International had documented dozens of cases involving the unlawful use of force, alleged torture and other forms of ill-treatment.
According to the organisation, some of the injuries were serious, including fractures sustained by protesters while exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.
According to Denis Krivosheev, hundreds of people have complained of ill-treatment, pointing to what he described as a systemic problem.
“Justice means ensuring accountability in all of these cases. The arrest of five people cannot change the wider climate of impunity in Georgia, especially when many alleged violations still have not been effectively investigated,” he said.
The Amnesty International representative called on the Prosecutor General’s Office not to limit the investigation to five individuals, but to extend it to everyone potentially responsible, including those who gave orders or failed to prevent human rights violations.
In his view, only such an approach could lead to real accountability for violence during the 2024 protests.
Context
Georgia’s Prosecutor’s Office arrested five people — including three former special forces officers and one serving officer — in connection with violence against protester Zviad Maisashvili, opposition politician Levan Khabeishvili and journalist Guram Rogava during the 2024 protests.
The announcement was made by Georgia’s Prosecutor General Giorgi Gvarakidze during a briefing. According to Gvarakidze, two of the five suspects were already in custody in connection with other criminal cases.
On 5 May 2026, Georgian broadcaster Formula TV published an investigation that identified the alleged attacker of Rogava using information obtained from “various sources within law enforcement”.
According to Formula, the information was provided by serving officers of the Interior Ministry’s Special Tasks Department and confirmed by multiple sources.
Amnesty International on protest violence in Georgia
