Why haven't the organizers of the assault on journalists in Tbilisi on July 5, 2021, been punished?

The events of July 5, 2021 in Tbilisi

The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) states that the events of July 5, 2021, in Tbilisi, when anti-gay rioters attacked journalists and hospitalized one who subsequently died, have not been thoroughly investigated to this day. More than ten statements were submitted to the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Special Investigative Service, but they were not promptly addressed, as a rule.

According to GYLA’s assessment, it is evident that despite the punishment of specific individuals who committed the violence, the procedural authority handling the criminal case lacks the necessary will to hold the organizers or leaders of this violence accountable.

While the investigation is ongoing, including against the organizers, it is not comprehensive, objective, or effective. GYLA believes that the victims have been artificially restricted from accessing the evidence obtained by the investigation from the organizers, leaders, or individuals who publicly facilitated the violent acts.

Furthermore, according to GYLA members the question of the state’s responsibility, which was accountable for properly protecting journalists carrying out their professional activities on July 5, 2021, remains unanswered:

“It is still unknown whether an investigation was initiated based on the report shown on the ‘Pirveli’ channel on June 12, 2022, regarding possible criminal actions by state security personnel.”

GYLA reports that, to their knowledge, no final decision regarding the death of journalist Lekso Lashkarava has been made, even though two years have passed since the incident. This may indicate that the investigation does not yet have answers to some questions. Throughout this entire period, the family of the deceased is still awaiting the results of the investigation.

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Reaction of the Authorities

According to the chairman of the ruling party Georgian Dream, Irakli Kobakhidze, there is no legal organizer behind the events of July 5.

“Legally, it was previously impossible to identify the organizers of those events. Because there are no established facts about who and how organized the crime. Organized crime is a legal category. When someone says that the organizers should be punished, then let them indicate who the organizer was.

What does it mean to be an ‘organizer of a crime’? For example, did someone specifically instruct certain individuals to go to a specific place and beat specific people? No, there was no such call,” says Kobakhidze.

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What happened on July 5?

On July 5, 2021, a gay pride parade was scheduled to take place in Tbilisi as part of Tbilisi Pride Week. The march was planned to start at Rustaveli Metro Station in the city center at 6:00 PM.

The Patriarchy declared a counter-action against the parade, calling on its supporters to take to the streets and protect the country from the “perverted way of life.”

In the morning of July 5, homophobic groups gathered near the Parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue, the route of the planned march. Initially, they destroyed opposition tents that had been standing near the Parliament for months and then started avoiding journalists who had arrived to cover the events. On this day, there was a real hunt for journalists in Tbilisi, resulting in injuries to 53 media personnel.

The clergy openly called on followers to resort to violence “for the sake of the homeland.”

According to eyewitnesses, the actions of the perpetrators were triggered by a statement made by the Prime Minister Garibashvili. Rather than holding the participants of the violent action accountable, he shifted the possible escalation of the situation onto the parade organizers, suggesting that they not hold the march on Rustaveli Avenue.

The parade was canceled, but the violence on Rustaveli Avenue continued for several more hours. Journalists reported that insufficient police forces were deployed to the scene throughout the day. The Minister of Internal Affairs, on the other hand, stated that they mobilized as many law enforcement officers as possible.

The events of July 5, 2021 in Tbilisi