Trials of Human Rights Defenders and Activists Arrested on June 2 postponed

Saba Brachveli’s trial was rescheduled for June 16, Nika Romanadze’s – for June 27, and Eduard Marikashvili’s – for June 28. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has charged all three men with disorderly conduct and non-compliance with a lawful order of the police.

“We prepared the evidence and were ready to question the witnesses, including policemen, but the court declared to us that the session had already been postponed. We will come back and prove our case. They are accusing me of swearing and disobeying a legal request from the police. Of course, none of the footage shows swearing, because it never happened. As for disobeying a legal request of the police, the request was not in fact legal, because I had the full right to be holding a piece of paper in my hand on Rustaveli Avenue. Therefore, this is also an absurd accusation,” said Brachveli.

The cases are being handled by Judge Nino Scherbakovi, who found Zurab Vardiashvili and Beka Jiqurashvili, journalists arrested during a protest rally against the adoption of the Russian-sourced “law on foreign Agents”, guilty and fined them 2200 GEL, each.

On the night of June 2nd, human rights defender Eduard Marikashvili, who is the head of the non-governmental organization Georgian Democracy Initiative, was holding a blank sheet of paper during a rally of several protesters held in front of the parliament building. Lawyer Saba Brachveli and civil activist Nika Romanadze held protest signs reading “ირაყლი” (vulgar wordplay on Prime Minister’s name, suggestive of genitalia). Police detained all three of them. In the video footage of the arrest, a police officer can be heard saying that no one has the right to insult the country's prime minister. The detained human rights defenders were not allowed to contact their lawyers for several hours. All three were transferred from the capital all the way to Telavi in a temporary holding cell and were released only after the maximum holding period of 48 hours had passed.

Human rights defenders and civil activists gathered near the parliament on June 2 after the police arrested three people, including lawyer Shota Tutberidze. Tutberidze was sitting on the stairs in front of the parliament with a placard reading “ირაყლი”. With signs of such content, citizens were expressing their protest against the Georgian government's foreign policy, and Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who said at the Global Security Forum in Bratislava, on May 30, that “one of the reasons for the start of the war was Ukraine's intention to become a member of NATO.” A policeman first tried to confiscate the poster from Tutberidze by force, then forced him off the stairs and arrested him. A police report claims he resisted the officers and verbally insulted them.

The lawyers believe that this is an intentional wrongful arrest, which violates Article 247 of the Criminal Code and is subject to 5 to 8-year imprisonment or deprivation of the right to hold an official position for up to three years. It is also illegal to hold a suspect for full 48 hours without sufficient grounds.

In addition, the European Court of Human Rights has assessed the arrest of protestors based on the content of placards, including obscene slogans, as a violation of the right to freedom of assembly and association. One of the last decisions regarding Georgia was made six months ago, on December 15, 2022 – in the case Peradze and Others v. Georgia.

A total of seven people were arrested at the June 2nd rally. The Special Investigation Service still has not started an investigation into possible wrongdoing by the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).