The UK embassy condemns violence against activists in Georgia
The British Embassy in Georgia urges the ruling party “Georgian Dream” to cease the intimidation of protesters opposing the “foreign agents” bill and to investigate instances of their rights violations.
“Practices such as threatening phone calls, unlawful detention, beatings and personalised posters portraying civil society members as traitors have no place in a democratic society. The UK will continue to stand with Georgia to support its democracy and Euro-Atlantic aspirations,” the embassy statement reads.
For several days now, there has been an extensive campaign of harassment and persecution against those actively opposing the “foreign agents” bill in Georgia.
They are being attacked by unknown assailants, with leaflets of offensive content being posted on their cars, walls of houses, and offices, and receiving threatening phone calls.
People are not allowed to appear in public places wearing clothes with slogans like “No to the Russian law” or similar.
Six participants in the April protests have been sentenced to prison terms on charges of violence against a police officer.
Six participants in the protest actions in April have been sentenced to prison terms on charges of violence against a police officer.
According to non-governmental organizations, from April 15 to May 9, information about 134 individuals detained during the protests was received through their hotlines. NGOs report that they searched for the detainees in investigative isolators, met with them, and identified instances of their rights being violated.
Specifically, concerns were raised about the difficulty in obtaining timely information about the detainees’ whereabouts, unjustified extensions of their detention periods, and excessive use of force by the police during arrests.
On April 9, in Tbilisi, military blogger Ucha Abashidze was arrested on charges of illegal purchase/possession of weapons.
