Lawyers allege systemic impunity after beating filmed at police station in Georgia
Police beating in Georgia
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) and Transparency International Georgia (TI) have alleged systemic violence against citizens by law enforcement agencies, commenting on footage aired by TV Pirveli on June 12.
The video shows several police officers beating a detainee inside a police station. According to GYLA and TI, such blatant incidents have become “a hallmark of the regime.”
The Interior Ministry said the incident shown in the video took place in Kobuleti in summer 2022, and all three officers were arrested.
What happened
The report was aired on Saturday, June 12, as part of journalist Nodar Meladze’s investigative program. It featured video footage allegedly showing torture and inhuman treatment inside a police station.
According to Meladze, the video was filmed by police officers themselves and circulated in public chat groups. He said that the person who gained access to the footage was later arrested.
The Interior Ministry later stated that the incident shown in the video took place in the summer of 2022 in Kobuleti, in the Adjara region, and involved three police officers from the Imereti region.
According to the ministry, the case was solved in February this year, and on February 23 the Prosecutor’s Office arrested all three officers as suspects.
GYLA: “Abusive police feel impunity within the system”
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association says the published material is “another illustration of systemic police violence,” which it argues has become one of the defining features of authoritarian rule in recent years.
The organization notes that video recordings of violent and degrading treatment have, in many cases, become part of the violence itself.
According to GYLA, such practices may be used to intimidate and blackmail victims, and indicate that abusive police officers feel protected by the system.
GYLA also says cases of violence, torture, and inhuman treatment by police during peaceful protests in 2024–2025 were systematic and widespread.
The assessment is based on documentation prepared by civil society, as well as reports from the Public Defender and international monitoring mechanisms.
TI: “Part of state policy”
Transparency International Georgia has also issued a critical assessment, saying civil society has for years reported problems of excessive use of force, ill-treatment, and impunity within the police system, and has called for institutional reforms and effective investigative mechanisms.
According to the organization, the creation of a special investigative service did not solve the problem, and the government later abolished the body.
TI Georgia says a policy of ignoring police violence, “zero empathy” toward victims, and impunity has taken hold in the country.
The statement also notes that no effective investigation has been conducted into alleged torture and inhuman treatment involving hundreds of people.
The organization places responsibility on the ruling party and its founder, oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, and says that “police violence in Georgia is no longer the arbitrary act of individual officers, but has become part of state policy.”
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