Giorgi Gakharia’s party, For Georgia, welcomes the Grand Chamber’s decision of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the June 20 case and states that it rules out Gakharia’s responsibility, confirming that “the case against Gakharia is nothing but political revenge.”
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During a briefing in the Georgian Dream parliament, Giga Parulava, a member of parliament from the former prime minister's party, stated that “Giorgi Gakharia did not give the order to use rubber bullets” during the dispersal of the demonstration.
“I am reading a quote from yesterday's decision by the Strasbourg Court: "According to the case materials, high-ranking officials of the ministry (Minister Gakharia and his deputies) did not issue an order to use ‘kinetic impact projectiles’ (rubber bullets).” The main question arises - who issued the order to use rubber bullets?!
We fully support yesterday's decision by the Grand Chamber of the Strasbourg Court in the June 20 case. This ruling confirmed that the fabricated charges against Giorgi Gakharia by Georgian Dream are nothing more than political persecution. The Strasbourg Court's decision excludes Giorgi Gakharia from the charges that the Georgian Dream Prosecutor's Office disputes.
The Strasbourg Court held that the dispersal of the June 20 demonstration was lawful because it involved an attack on a state institution. The only means that caused injuries during the event were rubber bullets. The excessive use of these rubber bullets was confirmed in four specific instances. Giorgi Gakharia did not order their use,” Parulava said.
He stated that the Strasbourg Court's decision will eventually lead to a fair and unbiased investigation: “It will be objectively established who issued the order to use rubber bullets. We call on the organisers and those truly responsible for June 20 - accountability is unavoidable,” Giga Parulava remarked.
As the party stated, the Grand Chamber's decision will be presented in court as evidence proving Giorgi Gakharia's innocence.
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights announced its decision in the case of “Tsaava and Others v. Georgia” on December 11. The Grand Chamber unanimously found that, by the Georgian state, there had been:
- a violation of both aspects of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment/lack of effective investigation) of the European Convention on Human Rights with respect to 24 of the 26 applicants;
- a violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) with respect to 14 applicants;
- a violation of Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) with respect to 11 applicants
“The case Tsaava and Others v. Georgia” concerns the dispersal by the police of a major anti-government protest on the night of 20–21 June 2019 in front of the Parliament building in Tbilisi. The protests were sparked by a member of the Russian Duma sitting in the Speaker’s chair in the Georgian Parliament and delivering a speech in Russian during a session of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy.
The applicants are 26 Georgian nationals. All but one (a bystander) were either participants in the demonstration or journalists reporting on the protest. The majority of them sustained injuries as a result of the authorities’ use of rubber bullets (‘kinetic impact projectiles’), while some were victims of police excessive use of force.
According to the Strasbourg Court's ruling, the Georgian government is required to pay the applicants a total of 646,000 euros in compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages, as well as legal costs.
The Georgian Dream's Ministry of Justice holds Giorgi Gakharia responsible for the loss of the lawsuit. According to them, the then leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs failed to ensure the use of proportionate force against the demonstrators.
It is noteworthy that within two months of the events of June 20, Giorgi Gakharia was promoted and transferred from the position of Minister of Internal Affairs to that of Prime Minister.
On November 12, 2025, the Georgian Dream Prosecutor's Office charged Giorgi Gakharia in absentia with intentionally harming citizens' health. The Prosecutor's Office states that on June 20, he „disregarded instructions and legislation, ordering the Special Tasks Department to use special means simultaneously and without warning or allowing peaceful demonstration participants to disperse.“
