The Social Justice Center (SJC) is issuing a statement regarding the ongoing events in the country and summarizing the main episodes of the peaceful demonstration taking place on December 14-15.
“On December 14, the 17th day of continuous peaceful protests, the Georgian Dream indirectly elected a “president” through an electoral college. The voting procedure in the parliament building took place against the backdrop of large-scale protests. The appointment of Mikheil Kavelashvili, one of the initiators of the Russian law and the leader of the strongly anti-European union “People’s Power” – a satellite of the Georgian Dream – as president, and the announcement of a ceremonial event at the protest location at the end of the day provided new grounds for the citizens to gather. Beyond expressing opposition to the change in foreign policy and the authoritarianism of the “Georgian Dream”, the gathered protesters also expressed their lack of confidence in the illegitimate president.
The session in parliament to appoint the president began at 9 am on December 14. Citizens gathered on Rustaveli Avenue from 7 am and peacefully protested throughout the day. In addition to Tbilisi, citizens also gathered in Batumi, Kutaisi and Zugdidi,” the statement reads.
The Center for Social Justice notes in a statement that yesterday, December 14, the presidential elections were held undemocratically and the president was elected by an illegitimate legislative body.
“For the first time in the history of Georgia, the country’s 6th “president” was elected indirectly. As a result of the vote held in the parliament building, the electoral college elected the only candidate nominated by the “Georgian Dream” as president. The vote lasted for 5 hours. Out of 225 members present at the session, 224 supported Kavelashvili. According to the resolution of the Central Election Commission, Kavelashvili’s inauguration is scheduled for December 29.
- Although the procedural aspects of the December 14 parliamentary vote were respected, the presidential elections were conducted undemocratically, which is why this process has problems with public and international legitimacy. This is explained by several factors:
- The election of the president by an illegitimate legislative body – half of the electoral college is made up of “newly elected” members of parliament. Accordingly, the legitimacy of the president is determined by the legitimacy of the new composition of the legislative body. As is known, the legislative elections of October 26 in Georgia were held against the background of systematic fraud and mass violations, which significantly influenced the will of the voters and cast doubt on the validity of the final results. At the same time, the convening of the parliament and the certification of the deputies’ powers were held in violation of the Constitution, since the first session of the newly elected parliament was held before the completion of the consideration of the lawsuit in the Constitutional Court, which challenged the constitutionality of the elections due to the violation of the secrecy of the vote, universality of elections and other principles.
- The lack of political competition – only one candidate was represented in the presidential elections. Single-candidate elections are characteristic of authoritarian regimes and facade democracies.
- The opposition's decision – the presidential elections were held in the parliament under a boycott by opposition political parties and a political crisis, and the Georgian Dream unilaterally supported the only candidate.
- International response – So far, only the authoritarian leader of Belarus, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, and President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, have congratulated the new “president” on his victory. Several Western politicians have criticized the indirect election of Mikheil Kavelashvili as president by the “Georgian Dream”. Among them are: the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament – Marko Mihkelsson, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag – Michael Roth, the European Parliamentarians – Rasa Jukneviciene, Nathalie Loiseau, Richards Kohls, and Congressman – Joe Wilson,” the statement notes.
SJC also writes about Kakha Kaladze's evening briefing and the postponement of the ceremonial event, noting that Kaladze's statement is yet another attempt to discredit the protests and peaceful demonstrators. Like other representatives of the Georgian Dream, Kaladze is also trying to label the protest participants as aggressive, radical forces without any justification, which is a clearly unfounded accusation given the peaceful nature of the ongoing protests.
“On December 13, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze announced the lighting of the Christmas tree and a festive event on Rustaveli Avenue, the main place of continuous protests on the day of the presidential election, at 7:00 PM. On December 14, Kaladze held a briefing and informed the public that he had decided to postpone the event. According to Kaladze, aggressive protesters have gathered on Rustaveli Avenue, who have organized several provocations, including throwing glass bottles in the direction of the stage. Kaladze also refers to the statements of President Salome Zurabishvili as provocations. The Tbilisi Mayor noted that the “radical opposition” considers the interests of children to be insignificant and therefore wanted to cancel the event.
კალაძის განცხადება საპროტესტო აქციებისა და მშვიდობიანი მომიტინგეების დისკრედიტაციის კიდევ ერთი მცდელობაა. ქართული ოცნების სხვა წარმომადგენლების მსგავსად, კალაძეც ყოველგვარი დასაბუთების გარეშე ცდილობს პროტესტის მონაწილეები მონიშნოს როგორც აგრესიული, რადიკალური ძალები, რაც აშკარად უსაფუძვლო ბრალდებაა მიმდინარე პროტესტების მშვიდობიანი ხასიათის გათვალისწინებით. მეორე მხრივ, ამ განცხადებით, კალაძე ცდილობს იმის ჩვენებასაც, თითქოსდა სახელისუფლებო ძალა ანგარიშს უწევს არასრულწლოვნების ინტერესებსა, რაც ასევე ირონიული განცხადებაა. სინამდვილეში, პროვოკაციული ხასიათი არა საპროტესტო აქციას, არამედ ქართული ოცნების წარმომადგენლების გადაწყვეტილებას ჰქონდა, რომ საზეიმო ღონისძიება სწორედ იმ ლოკაციაზე უნდა გამართულიყო, სადაც 17 დღეა უწყვეტად იმართება აქციები და სადაც არაერთი აქციის მონაწილე, მათ შორის არასრულწლოვნები, სასტიკად სცემეს. ბუნებრივია, საკანონმდებლო ორგანოს მიმდებარე ტერიტორიაზე შეკრებას სიმბოლური დანიშნულება აქვს შეკრების მონაწილეებისთვის, ნაძვის ხის ანთების ღონისძიება კი ვერ ჩაითვლებოდა შეკრების თავისუფლებაში ჩარევისა და მით უფრო შეკრების დაშლის ლეგიტიმურ საფუძვლად. აღსანიშნავია, რომ “საზეიმო” ღონისძიების უზრუნველსაყოფად ადგილზე მობილიზებული იყო და სცენას იცავდა უამრავი პოლიციელი. ამასთან, განსაკუთრებით უნდა გაესვას ხაზი იმას, რომ ღონისძიების გადადების გადაწყვეტილება თბილისის მერმა პრაქტიკულად ბოლო მომენტში გამოაცხადა, მას შემდეგ, რაც “ქართული ოცნების” მიერ მობილიზებული ჯგუფები უკვე დაძრული იყვნენ ღონისძიების ადგილისკენ, არაერთი მათგანი უკვე ადგილზე იყო, ხოლო ზოგიერთმა ღონისძიების გადადების შესახებ მხოლოდ მედიისგან შეიტყო. ეს გარემოება აჩვენებს, რომ ხელისუფლებამ “საზეიმო” ღონისძიებაზე ადამიანების მობილიზება დასაშვებად მიიჩნია და მხედველობაში არ მიიღო ის რისკები, რაც შესაძლოა, ადგილზე ვითარების ესკალაციას მოჰყოლოდა. საბოლოოდ, ღონისძიების გადადების მიზეზი, როგორც ჩანს, არა სამოქალაქო მშვიდობის და ადამიანების ჯანმრთელობის გაფრთხილება, არამედ ის აღმოჩნდა, რომ ქალაქის მერმა საკმარისი ადამიანების შეკრება ვერ შეძლო,” – აღნიშნულია განცხადებაში.
According to the SJC, the Georgian Dream is using the administrative detention mechanism as a tool for political revenge.
“Since November 28, up to 500 demonstrators have been detained. During these days, along with the methods of suppressing the protest, the strategy of using the detention mechanism has changed. If in the first days of the protest, law enforcement officers detained demonstrators directly at protest rallies and began to use violence against them from the gathering place, for the last few days, so-called masked law enforcement officers have been meeting at the houses and/or abducting protest participants and persons politically unacceptable to the Georgian Dream on the way. This shows even more clearly that detention is a punitive mechanism and does not serve any legitimate purpose, including the protection of public order and security.
On the night of December 14, on Kostava Street, masked “law enforcement officers” kidnapped Nikoloz (Niko) Managadze, put him in a car and arrested him. As it turned out, Managadze’s arrest was related to his refusal to be questioned at the police station a few hours earlier, as the masked men asked Niko in the car: “Why didn’t you come to the station, what are you doing to us?” He was also taken away from his personal belongings and taken to the police station. The pressure on Niko Managadze continued at the station, where they asked him “How long will you be at the rallies?” etc. The police accuse him of disobeying and verbally abusing a police officer, although, according to our information, such facts did not occur on his part.
Niko Managadze is not the only person who has been arrested for refusing to voluntarily submit to questioning. A few days ago, Konstantine (Kote) Chakhunashvili, a member of the Jiuti movement, was arrested in his own car on charges of “disobeying a lawful request” by the police before arriving at a protest rally. In Chakhunashvili’s case, the arrest was also preceded by a summons for questioning in connection with a criminal case the day before.
The court also encourages the vicious practice of mass administrative detention by reporting demonstrators as lawbreakers. On December 14, the Tbilisi City Court sentenced Rondeli Foundation researcher Vato Bzhalava, who was detained on December 12 while walking his dog on the street, to 4 days of administrative detention for disobeying police officers in plainclothes. Vato Bzhalava stated at the court hearing that he voluntarily presented his ID to the police officers and followed them into the car, which is also confirmed by video footage. According to him, none of the arresters had any identifying marks that indicated that they were law enforcement officers. Despite his request, they did not even introduce their identities to the detainee. In addition to the fact that Vato Bzhalava did not resist the police, the Code of Administrative Offenses provides for liability for disobeying the request of a law enforcement officer. Accordingly, it must be clear to the citizen that they are police officers. According to the legislation, they are also obliged to identify themselves and explain the grounds for their arrest during detention. However, the court does not take these circumstances into account and establishes the existence of a violation of the law in a standard manner.
"Ambushing and detaining citizens for refusing to be questioned violates the requirements of the Criminal Procedure Code. According to the legislation, questioning is voluntary and it is inadmissible to force the person being questioned to provide information or provide evidence. Taking citizens off the street and restricting their freedom in order to force them to appear before an investigative body, and then imposing an administrative penalty for disobeying the police in order to "retaliate", should be considered an illegal practice from the very beginning," the statement reads.
The Center for Social Justice also writes about the Amnesty International report:
The international organization Amnesty International has published a report on the use of disproportionate force and violence against citizens by the police during the protests that began in Georgia on November 29. The report discusses specific facts and, based on them, critically assesses the increasing repression by the authorities, cases of physical violence against journalists and demonstrators, and the use of unnecessary/excessive force by the police.
The report highlights several key aspects:
- Qualification of crimes committed by law enforcement officers as torture – According to the report, the actions of law enforcement officers (beating detainees in a closed space, degrading treatment, intimidation to stop protests, sexual threats, etc.) amount to torture and other inhumane treatment.
- Cases of violation of the right to a fair trial – According to the organization's assessment, during the review of cases of persons detained during protests, violations such as: restriction of communication with a lawyer, disregard of neutral evidence by judges, and making biased decisions are systematically revealed.
- Total control of public institutions by the Georgian Dream – The report indicates that the government has influence over all institutions, including the judiciary, investigative and regulatory bodies. This also explains why law enforcement officers do not wear visible identification marks, which would help prevent violent crimes.
Over the past few days, the actions of the Georgian Dream clearly show that they are choosing the path of escalation and leading the country towards a political deadlock. The election of a person with a distinctly anti-Western orientation as president, against the backdrop of mass pro-European demonstrations, by a parliament that, in turn, convened illegitimately, further deepens the constitutional crisis.
At the same time, the increasingly arbitrary practice of detaining citizens gives rise to the feeling that the authorities are completely ignoring not only human rights standards, but even the minimum requirements of Georgia's domestic legislation.
In addition, the legislative amendments recently adopted by the Dream are a departure from the constitutional order in force in the country and, in a number of ways, substantially worsen the established human rights standards. Among these amendments, the following are particularly noteworthy:
- Amendments to the Law on Civil Service to simplify reorganization, which practically abolish guarantees of protection against unlawful dismissal of civil servants and legalize arbitrary procedures for making personnel decisions;
- A blanket ban on masks at gatherings, which is a gross violation of international standards and is motivated by the aim of persecuting and intimidating demonstrators;
- Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses, which increase fines for violations committed in connection with assemblies, including damage to the appearance of the city, disruption of traffic, etc.;
- Imposing responsibility on the parent and introducing a rule for fining them when a minor commits an administrative offense (including disobedience to the police).
