Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2007 - Georgia

Political context

In 2007, Georgia experienced the most important political upheavals since the "Rose Revolution", a popular movement which resulted in the regime change of 2003. These changes resulted in a negative impact on the overall situation of human rights.

The power of President Mikhail Saakashvili was contested because of his inability to carry out genuine democratic reforms and combat corruption, instrumentalisation of justice and police violence. Economic and social inequalities further increased because of the dire situation of the economy, which deteriorated following the economic blockade imposed by Russia in 2006.

Popular discontent reached a peak in September 2007, when former Defence Minister, Mr. Irakli Okruashvili, accused President Mikhail Saakashvili and his staff, without providing evidence, of being responsible for several crimes, including the assassination attempt against Georgian billionaire Mr. Badri Patarkatsishvili, owner of the largest opposition channel Imedi. These arguments were supported by the opposition, which organised large demonstrations on November 2, 2007 in Tbilisi to demand the resignation of the President and to call for early presidential elections. On November 7, police forces dispersed a demonstration of several thousand people with water cannons and tear gas, resulting in hundreds of casualties. Several journalists filming the police repression were severely beaten and their equipment was seized. The President declared a state of emergency and suspended several independent media groups, including Imedi, whose offices were raided by the police, equipment destroyed, and journalists beaten.

The state of emergency was lifted on November 16, 2007. On November 25, President Saakashvili resigned in order to campaign for future elections, leaving Mrs. Nino Burdjanadze, President of the Parliament, in charge of the interim.

In 2007, no progress was observed relating to the status of the separatist republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Nearly 2,000 Russian peacekeepers continued to be stationed in Abkhazia, which has worsened the already tense relations between Russia and Georgia.¹ In August 2007, a new political crisis erupted between the two countries regarding the discovery in a region near Ossetia of a missile that was likely dropped by a Russian aircraft flying over the area.

Police violence against defenders during the dispersal of demonstrations

Several Georgian human rights defenders who witnessed the many protests Georgia experienced in 2007 were victims of police violence. For example, on November 7, 2007, the Georgian Ombudsman, Mr. Sozar Subari, and a member of his staff were beaten by the police during the dispersal of the demonstration while trying to protect demonstrators from police violence.

Lawsuits against defenders who denounced the instrumentalisation of justice

The human rights defenders who denounced the instrumentalisation of Georgian justice and challenged Court decisions have become the subject of judicial proceedings. On March 19, 2007, Mr. Jaba Jishkariani, a member of the Egalitarian Institute, was arrested and sentenced to 30 days in prison for "contempt of court", after having protested in a juvenile court against the conviction of a minor to seven years in prison, despite the protests by UNICEF that this sentence was too heavy. Similarly, on June 12, 2007, the police arrested Mr. Jaba Jishkariani, Mr. Davit Dalakishvili and Mr. Levan Gogichaishvili, also members of the Egalitarian Institute, when they called for the release of political prisoner Mr. Irakli Batiashvili. They were charged with "violation of public order" and "resisting arrest", and sentenced to 25 days in detention.

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders is a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).

1 Since the independence of Georgia in 1991, relations between Russia and Georgia have been precarious. In 1998, Georgia left the Security Convention of the Commonwealth of Independent States and requested to join NATO in 2002. In 2006, after Georgia dismissed four Russian diplomats accused of espionage, Russia halted deliveries of gas, blocked importation of Georgian products and began mass deportations of people with Georgian origin who were residing in Russia.