Georgian rights defenders warn authorities against pardoning law enforcers

Amid pardoning political prisoners, Georgian authorities should not pardon the policemen who participated in the harsh dispersal of the rally in June 2019, human rights defenders have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 19, some of the Georgian opposition parties and the ruling "Georgian Dream" Party came to an agreement, which provides for an amnesty of political prisoners and the holding of parliamentary elections.

The amnesty should not cover the law enforcers who dispersed the protest actions on June 20 and 21, 2019, in Tbilisi, the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) believes. On those days, law enforcers dispersed the protesters outside the parliament building by using the tear gas and rubber bullets. According to the Ministry of Public Health, 240 people were hospitalized.

Human rights defenders have noted that during the above dispersals there were numerous cases of human rights violations, including the unlawful use of force and cruel treatment during detention. Law enforcers resorted to degrading treatment of people; therefore it is unacceptable to apply amnesty to them, human rights defenders also believe.

If law enforcers are amnestied, victims may be deprived of compensations, said Dito Nozaidze, a lawyer from the NGO "Human Rights Centre".

Zaza Svanadze, a journalist who suffered at the dispersal of the action, is sure that he will receive compensation, since his case has been sent to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), but he was also outraged by the likelihood of pardoning law enforcers. "I have traces of wounds from plastic bullets on my feet for the rest of my life. But there are much worse cases – policemen knocked out the eyes of two people! Such an attitude towards people cannot be left unpunished," he has stated.