Georgia's Ombudsman on persecutions of protesters against the 'foreign agents' bill

Georgia’s Ombudsman statement

On May 13, Georgian public defender Levan Ioseliani released a statement detailing the condition of those arrested during the citizen rally, alleging the excessive use of force against them and inappropriate treatment.

According to the Ombudsman, the incidents of attacks on representatives of opposition parties, journalists, and rally participants show signs of persecution based on political motives, activities, and beliefs, which starkly contradicts the individual rights guaranteed by the constitution and international treaties.

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The public defender stated that he had addressed the relevant investigative bodies – the Special Investigation Service, the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs – urging them to promptly investigate the facts of attacks on opposition political leaders, representatives of non-governmental organizations, media, and other rally participants. The Office of the Public Defender demanded an investigation into possible interference with the work of television filming crews.

“In particular, the Office of the public defender, in order to ensure timely and effective response, has appealed to investigative authorities to investigate the attacks on Levan Khabeishvili, Sopho Japaridze, Aleko Elisashvili, Gia Japaridze, Giorgi Mumladze, Boris Chele Kurua, Nodar Chachanidze, Dimitri Chikovani, biker Lasha Gviniashvili, DJ Giorgi Shengelia, the father of activist Ana Subeliani, U.S. and Georgian citizen Theodore Jonas, teacher Lado Abkhazava, as well as journalist Alexander Keshelava and journalists from the same media outlet, journalist of the online media outlet ‘Tabula’ Giorgi Badridze, journalist of the ‘April’ outlet Giorgi Baskhadze, journalist of the filming crew of the ‘Pirveli’ TV company, and regarding the attacks on Giorgi Kldiasvili, the executive director of the Institute for Development (IDFI) and the filming crew of the ‘Formula’ TV company. Also, on May 13 and in previous days, there have been cases of violence documented in several publicly circulated videos, including a case of violence against a citizen on Leonidze Street and an attack on a group of young people at Heroes Square,” the statement from the Georgian Ombudsman reads.

The public defender calls on investigative authorities to promptly establish the responsibility of the alleged criminals and take appropriate legal measures to identify lawbreakers among the police officers, individuals or groups using violence, as well as among the organizers and/or instigators of violence.

In addition to this, employees of various units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been engaging in aggressive actions, and a widespread campaign of hatred has been unleashed against those actively protesting against the ‘foreign agents’ law. People are being attacked by unknown groups. Offensive posters are plastered outside the homes and offices of activists, and insulting messages are left on their cars.

There have been cases where individuals have been prohibited from moving in areas of mass gathering if they were wearing clothing with slogans such as ‘No to the Russian law’ or something similar.

In addition to physical violence, psychological abuse and threats are being directed towards opponents of the ‘foreign agents’ bill. They receive harassing phone calls, are verbally abused, and threatened.