US Department of State Report Highlights Shortcomings in Georgia
By Tea Mariamidze
Friday, March 15
2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released by the United States Department of State on March 13 speaks of the main shortcomings in various sectors and fields of the country.
The report includes developments during the October 2018 Presidential elections in Georgia, saying Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observers described the first round of the presidential elections in October as competitive and professionally administered, although they raised concerns including the lack of a level playing field, voter intimidation, and fear of retribution.
The Department of State says that OSCE observers repeated these concerns after the second round in November and assessed that the candidates “were able to campaign in a free environment; however, one side enjoyed an undue advantage and the negative character of the campaign on both sides undermined the process.”
Moreover, human rights issues included an allegation of an unjustified killing by security forces of a 19-year old Temirlan Machalikashvili during the special operation in Pankisi Gorge.
It also includes arbitrary detentions and deprivation of life by Russian and de facto authorities of the country’s citizens along the administrative boundary lines (ABLs) with the Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia; unlawful interference with privacy; allegations of high level corruption of government officials; and crimes involving violence or threats targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons.
According to the report, in its May report to parliament for 2017, the Public Defender’s Office (PDO)stated that effectively combating torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment remained “one of the most important challenges of the country.”
“The PDO reported it asked the Office of the Chief Prosecutor to investigate 72 allegations of such mistreatment by police officers and prison staff between 2013- 17; of these, the prosecutor’s office did not identify any perpetrators according to the PDO. The PDO reported an increase in the number of cases of mistreatment by police it referred to the CPO in 2017 and an increase in 2017 in the rate of injuries sustained by individuals admitted to temporary detention facilities and during or after administrative arrests,” the report reads.
“The government took steps to investigate some allegations of human rights abuses, but shortcomings remained. Such shortcomings included lack of accountability for the May 2017 reported abduction from Georgia and rendition to Azerbaijan of Azerbaijani journalist and activist Afgan Mukhtarli,” the US Department of State noted.
The report stresses that de facto authorities in the Russian-occupied Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia remained outside central government control and were supported by several thousand Russian troops and border guards occupying the areas. A cease-fire remained in effect since 2008. Russian border guards restricted the movement of local populations. While there was little official information on the human rights and humanitarian situation in South Ossetia due to limited access, allegations of abuse persisted.
“De facto authorities did not allow most international organizations regular access to South Ossetia to provide humanitarian assistance. Russian “borderization” of the ABLs continued, separating residents from their communities and livelihoods,” the report reads.
The opposition believes the report proved there are a lot of problems in Georgia.
Salome Samadashvili from the United National Movement held a press conference, saying the report is the message which says “if the government does not change, the country will not have Euro-Atlantic future.”
“NATO and the EU are the unions of democratic states, we were told by the report that in our country there is no democracy at all,” she stressed, adding Georgia will remain “a poor and undeveloped state because not a single investor will invest in the country where there is no fair justice.”
Davit Sergeenko, Minister of IDPs, Labor, Health and Social Affairs from Occupied Territories, said during the assessment of the report published by the US Department of State that he was involved in the pre-election campaign but did not witness any kinds of violations.
As for the ongoing investigations into some high-profile cases, the minister expressed hope that all the questions around them will be answered in the near future.
