Amnesty International on Georgia: 'Peaceful protests should not be punished with imprisonment'
The international human rights organisation Amnesty International (AI) has expressed deep concern over recent developments in Georgia. The organisation states that a wave of arrests and repressive laws are threatening freedom of expression and assembly in the country.
Among other concerns, AI points to the legislative amendments adopted on 16 October, which prohibit the wearing of masks, the setting up of street tents, and the blocking of roads. These actions are punishable by up to 15 days in prison, and up to two years for repeat offences. According to the organisation, these measures resemble “counterterrorism operations.”
What Amnesty International Says in Its Statement
● “The detention operations carried out across the country after 4 October involved excessive use of force and had an intimidating effect, especially when conducted in the presence of family members, including young children.”
Examples include the arrests of Mariam Mekantsishvili, Davit Ghurtskaia, and Simon Makharadze: Mekantsishvili’s six-year-old son witnessed his mother being detained by special forces; Ghurtskaia was arrested at 6 a.m. in front of her three-year-old son; and during Makharadze’s detention, a law enforcement officer reportedly held a gun to the head of his four-year-old son.
● “The legislative amendments adopted on 16 October are designed to suppress protests and violate international human rights standards.”
● “There is also concern over a constitutional lawsuit filed by the ruling Georgian Dream party seeking to ban the opposition parties ‘United National Movement’ and ‘Lelo’, as well as the opposition coalition ‘Coalition for Change’.”
● “This wave of arrests in Georgia, carried out without adequate judicial safeguards and accompanied by recent legislative changes, is clearly aimed at deterring the right to protest.”
● “Peaceful demonstrations — including those involving road blockades, the wearing of masks, or the installation of temporary structures — should not be punished with home searches or imprisonment.”
● “Laws that criminalise the exercise of the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression violate Georgia’s Constitution as well as the country’s international human rights obligations, and must be repealed. The overall result of these measures is the systematic erosion of the right to protest and the closing of civic space.”
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