More than 60% of individuals arrested during the pro-European protests report being victims of police ill-treatment.
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According to the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia, between November 28 and December 16, representatives of the Ombudsman’s Office visited a total of 362 individuals in temporary detention centers and clinics. Of these, 227 individuals - approximately 62% - reported experiencing ill-treatment, while 158 detainees (43%) exhibited visible injuries.
Non-governmental organizations reported receiving information through their hotline regarding the administrative detention of over 450 individuals. Of these, the majority - around 300 individuals (66%) - were identified as victims of torture and other forms of ill-treatment.
Transparency International Georgia, the Georgian European Orbit, and the Rule of Law Center assessed that the Ministry of Internal Affairs had previously implemented brutal methods to disperse demonstrators, including systemic torture, to suppress peaceful protests.
Nino Lomjaria, founder of the Georgian European Orbit and former Public Defender, stated that special forces physically abused detainees during arrests, taking them to the special forces cordon, where they were beaten before being transported in so-called minivans.
“The interiors of these special detention vehicles were intentionally designed to facilitate the beating of detainees. Groups of special forces officers entered the minivans in turns, physically abusing the detainees inside. Testimonies indicate that the physical violence, inhuman and degrading treatment, and torture were orchestrated by a single individual who directed where, how, and with what intensity the detainees were to be beaten. The violence was particularly severe in areas such as the face, head, eye sockets, ribs, and kidneys.
In addition to physical abuse, special forces officers robbed detainees of their belongings, including clothes, shoes, mobile phones, bags, wallets, glasses, crosses, and other personal items.
In one reported case, a gas canister was thrown into a minivan where detainees were being beaten, and the door was then closed. In other instances, robbed and beaten detainees were doused with cold water. They were also given items, such as socks, to wipe their blood.
Detainees were cursed at, insulted, and threatened with death, rape, and the breaking of body parts. According to the lawyer of one detainee, law enforcement officers took his client to the Lisi area after his arrest, where they threatened to kill and bury him on the spot.
The abuse extended to humiliation: detainees were photographed and filmed in degrading conditions and forced to say self-deprecating phrases. In some cases, the videos of beaten detainees were personally recorded by Zviad Kharazishvili, the head of the Special Tasks Department,” Lomjaria stated.
She also noted that special forces handed over beaten detainees to the patrol police. Despite showing clear signs of physical abuse, detainees were not provided timely or adequate medical care and were denied access to legal representation.
