AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CRITICIZES "EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE" BY GEORGIAN LAW ENFORCERS
By Nino Mumladze

The Messenger, Georgia
May 25 2007

At globalization conference President Saakashvili addresses human
rights abuses based on ethnicity

Torture, ill-treatment and excessive use of force by Georgian police
officers continue to be practiced with impunity in Georgia remarks
international human rights watchdog Amnesty International (AI) in
its annual report released on May 23. While on May 24, President
Saakashvili criticized international human rights organizations for
not paying enough attention to human rights abuses based on ethnicity
in Georgia.

"Pre-trial and convicted prisoners were reportedly ill-treated on
several occasions, and excessive force was reportedly used in prison
disturbances in which at least 8 detainees died and many more were
wounded, including special forces officers. Police officers continued
to enjoy impunity in dozens of cases in which torture, ill-treatment
and excessive use of force have been alleged," reads AI’s abstract
on Georgia.

Not surprisingly, special attention is given to the high-profile murder
case of Sandro Girgvliani and the Tbilisi prison incident last March
which took the lives of 7 inmates.

"In January, officers of the Interior Ministry severely beat and
otherwise ill-treated Sandro Girgvliani and his friend Levan Bukhaidze
on the outskirts of Tbilisi…Sandro Girgvliani died as a result of
injuries he sustained…In July, four officers were sentenced to prison
terms for causing his death. However, no impartial investigation was
opened into allegations that those who killed Sandro Girgvliani had
acted on the orders of senior officials of the Interior Ministry,"
stresses the report.

AI says that out of the several alleged instances of ill-treatment and
excessive force against inmates in detention facilities and prisons,
only the case of Tbilisi prison disturbances last March was subject
to an official investigation and it did not start until June.

Moreover the results of the investigation were not made public until
the end of 2006.

AI notes a positive move of parliament in April, when time limits were
removed for bringing up charges against suspects accused of torture,
inhuman and degrading treatment.

But comments that the human right’s group expresses regret that the
government did not extend the two-year Plan of Action against Torture
which expired in December 2005, "although many recommendations by a
range of international human rights bodies remained unimplemented."

Violence against women in the family and freedom of expression at risk
in conflict zones are the other points underlined by AI. The report
says authorities failed to protect women from domestic violence or
bring its perpetrators to justice and reported that, "Most frequently,
women were beaten, hit and kicked, but they were also burned with
cigarettes, had their heads bashed against walls, or were raped."

The report is also critical of Georgian authorities for not gathering
comprehensive statistics on domestic violence. It also points out that
despite "an important step" of adopting a new law on domestic violence
in May, "implementation of the provision for temporary shelters for
victims of domestic violence was postponed until 2008."

The Committee urges that a national action plan to combat domestic
violence be completed and implemented.

In terms of freedom of expression, AI claims civil society activists
in South Ossetia risked harassment from the secessionist authorities
because of contact with Georgian activists. The report refers to an
incident when the mother of civil society activist, Alan Dzhusoity
was dismissed from the position of headmistress of a Tskhinvali school
in South Ossetia "in an apparent attempt by the authorities of South
Ossetia to put pressure on her son to end his contacts with Georgian
civil society organizations."

In the same context, on May 24, President Saakashvili complained
about the international community’s lack of attention to continued
human rights abuses in Georgia based on ethnicity.

"Two months ago, Georgian books from all the schools in Gagra [a town
in breakaway Abkhazia] were publicly burned in the town center. Where
was the international community at that time and why didn’t anyone
say anything? If in the 21st century we allow the existence of
such an ideology – wherein someone can’t return home just because
of ethnic origin, it means not only do we not have a state, but it
also indicates humankind has serious problems," Saakashvili declared
at an international conference on globalization and dialogue among
civilizations in Tbilisi.

He also stressed the importance of tolerance in a country as
multi-ethnic as Georgia.

"When I was in the opposition, I was saying and I will repeat it many
times: for those people, who hate Armenians in Georgia, I will be
Armenian; for those who hate Azeris, I will be Azeri….Of course,
it will be a great honor to me to be Jew," Saakashvili said.

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