EMC publishes a report on the events of June 20

On July 4, non-governmental organization EMC published the official report on the events of the night of June 20-21. The report is a preliminary evaluation of the events and is limited to the available information at this time. The Investigation office is currently studying over 100s of audio-video and photo files requested from the media sources present at the scene. According to the briefing held on June 4, by the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia (POG), analysis of the materials is underway. The Investigative Agency is carefully keeping a track of all the locations where the police units were operating, and the video footage of the private surveillance cameras placed in private and public institutions.

The EMC report states that the behavior of a group of protestors on Rustaveli Avenue on June 20 took on the uncontrolled violent character and gave the police a legal basis for interference with freedom of assembly. However, at the time of the ceasefire, the police ignored the requirements set by the law for dismissal of the rally, including the use of the negotiation resources. Police had no human rights standards for the crackdown, and people crowd management, an efficient, reasonable and thorough plan to massively and indiscriminately use excessive police force and violated the use of special means sequence and rules, which resulted in injuring demonstrators. Some of the victims received irreversible damages. In the middle of the night, after the first dispersal of the rally, police behavior was arbitrary, and the legitimate aim of their campaign became vague, whether it was to persecute or to detain the protestors for hours, even those far away from the Parliament building.

To ensure transparency of the investigative process, the Prosecutor General's Office of Georgia has been working closely with the Public Defender and NGOs. For this purpose, they have already been requested to submit the full information available to them regarding possible offense to the investigative agency.

The investigation scrutinizes detailed episodes where signs of deliberate and unnecessary attack by law enforcement officers are revealed. According to the POG, all necessary investigative and procedural actions will be taken to make a summary decision in the shortest possible time.

The EMC stands by the opinion that even though the use of force was legitimate in the beginning, the special unit servicemen used unnecessary means of violence later on.

“Despite the legitimacy of the decision to dissolve the rally, there have been many troublesome, serious episodes in police actions at the next stages. First of all, the police did not provide adequate warning to the rally participants before the rally was dispersed, which is a clear violation of the legislation regulating the assembly and manifestation,” states the report.

The EMC also issued a set of recommendations for the follow-up on the government’s part.

First of all, the EMC recommends that the Ministry of Internal Affairs takes political responsibility for the event and its result and that the Prosecutor’s Office investigates into offence marks in the actions of individuals and police officers responsible for planning and dispersing the rally.

Because journalists were also injured, the EMC suggests focusing the investigation on these cases on the aspects of interference in journalistic activities. The EMC calls for the proper study of the attack on police officers by the demonstrators in front of the Parliament as well as on the illegal calls to enter the Parliament and further actions of the protesters.

The NGO calls for maximum transparency as well as informing the public about the developments in the investigation, while also keeping the Public Defender involved as a supervisor in the process. Government’s full support in terms of financing the medical and rehabilitation services of the victims affected by the rally is also encouraged.