From November 28 to 9 December:
● 11 Georgian NGOs are engaged in defending protesters. At this moment, based on our own sources and those of public agencies, we can provide the following data:
● More than 450 persons were arrested, of whom some 430 ones were arrested on administrative and 31 on criminal charges
● More than 300 persons fell victim to violence and ill-treatment such as torture or inhuman treatment
● More than 80 demonstrators needed hospital treatment
● Around 80 journalists fell victim to violent attacks by police officers or Titushkis
● The age of the arrested persons varies from 15 to 60 years. In addition to men, some women and children were arrested too
● The arrested individuals include 10 foreign nationals
● The judges apply severe sanctions: administrative fines from GEL 2,000 to GEL 3,000 have already been imposed on 60 persons; 44 ones were subject to administrative detention for 4 to 14 days; oral warning as a sanction was applied only in a few cases; with respect to others cases are pending
● Because the detention centers are overcrowded, many arrested persons are transported to remote areas; some have to wait in police vehicles for long hours before their accommodation in detention centers takes place
● Defense attorneys had to wait hours before they would learn the whereabouts of their clients
● Judges make decisions exclusively based on witness statements of police officers. The defence’s evidence is disregarded
● In all cases, the judges refused to notify the Special Investigative Service about the victims of violence and torture or inhuman treatment
● The judges disallowed the arrested persons to tell them about their beating and torture. The judges claim it is not of any relevance to them
● All reported facts have been properly documented
● Punished police officers - 0
Use of the GD-affiliated masked groups to abuse protesters and media
● Over the last couple of days there has been observed a trend of using some GD-affiliated aggressive groups in masks against the protesters. These people have been gathering in the nearby streets where they have captured and physically attacked the peaceful demonstrators and media people
● As one may see in the video materials broadcast by media, the police has been instructed not to react to the violent acts of those groups. Such violent acts often take place in plain view of police officers
● Such groups were used against the TV Pirveli journalist, Maka Chikhladze, and her cameraman, Giorgi Shetsiruli
● The video material makes it clear that those groups have passed a special training
Attacks on Journalists
● From November 28 to present, some 92 occasions of abuse of the media representatives have been documented. These include targeted attacks, inflicting heavy bodily injuries, unlawful arrests, imposing financial sanctions, unlawful interference with the journalist’s activities, affecting their health and safety by use of pepper spray, tear gas and water canons, threatening, and verbal abuse
● The TV Pirveli journalist, Maka Chikhladze, and her cameraman, Giorgi Shetsiruli, as well as the Publika journalist, Mindia Gabadze, fell victim to the violent attacks from the so-called Titushkis
● All those facts have been documented by the media coalition and the NGO network. Legal assistance has been provided to affected journalists
Relationship with the international partners
● The Georgian civil sector regularly provides information about the ongoing developments in Georgia to the international community. This happens both proactively and as may be requested
● Informations about the persons arrested during the protests and their abuse, torture or inhuman treatment were sent to the foreign diplomatic agencies in Georgia, international organizations, the US Department of State, the US Congress, the ministries of foreign affairs of the EU members states, and the EU governing structures.
● From November 30 to date, the international partners have made about 30 statements in support of the people of Georgia. Announcements were made concerning the imposition of US sanctions on specific responsible persons.
Obviously, by his acts and decisions Ivanishvili has been driving the country into a deep crisis. The state institutions have been dysfunctional. No institution has reacted to apparent violations of law. All of them have failed to protect the lawful interests of the Georgian citizens. The only way out of the crisis is to release all unlawfully arrested/detailed persons, to terminate all trumped up administrative and criminal cases, and to set up new elections.