GYLA files 2 new complaints with Strasbourg court over June 20 events
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Thursday, April 8
The Young Lawyers' Association, together with its partner organization the European Center for Human Rights (EHRAC), has filed 2 new complaints with the European Court of Human Rights.
As it was mentioned at the briefing held at GYLA, “complaints against the dispersal of the anti-occupation rally on June 20-21, 2019 against 22 people, including 10 protesters, 11 media representatives and one person accidentally found at the epicenter of the incident, an effective investigation by the state It will be about non-compliance."
Complaints referred to the use of extensive force during the dispersing of an anti-occupation rally against 22 persons, including 10 persons exercising the right to peaceful assembly, 11 members of the media, and 1 person accidentally found in the epicenter of events, as well as lack of effective investigation by the state.
“On June 20-21, 2019, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia decided to disperse the rally, which turned into a large-scale violation of the rights of the protesters. The applicants in the complaints lodged Article 3 (prohibition of torture), Article 10 (freedom of expression - only in the case of media representatives), Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association - only in the case of demonstrators), and Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) violations,” GYLA chairman Nikoloz Sonishvili announced.
According to the organization, on June 20-21, the MIA failed to properly manage the tense situation and did not use the resources of communication, negotiation, and dialogue to ensure de-escalation. They used the practice of administratively detaining protesters. According to GYLA, those who were under the effective control of law enforcement officers during/after their arrest were subjected to ill-treatment as a result of their arrest by law enforcement officers and subsequent physical and verbal violence.
As for the obstruction of journalistic activities, as noted at a press conference, the use of active special means and physical or verbal violence by law enforcement officers resulted in serious violations of the rights of media representatives, including freedom of expression, ill-treatment, and facts of obstruction of journalists’ professional activities.
"Despite the passage of more than 21 months, the investigation process is flawed, incomplete, and does not meet the standard of effective investigation. In particular, to date, 20 of the 22 people under GYLA protection are not granted with the status of victims, although the damage caused to these individuals as a result of the crime is evidenced by video footage, medical documents, and witness testimony is also available to investigators. Although Maia (Mako) Gomuri and Giorgi Sulashvili have the status of victims, the Prosecutor General's Office does not allow them access to the full case file and only provides access to materials which, in the opinion of the investigating authority, are relevant to the applicants.
The organization clarifies that the complaints filed by GYLA present systemic problems that occur during the dissolution by the state through the use of shares. As a result, according to them, it becomes clear that the state still does not have an effective demonstration policy focused on human rights.
