US State Department’s 2020 report assess human rights situation in Georgia
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Friday, April 2
The US State Department has released its 45th report which addresses human rights and covers 190 countries, Georgia among them. The report reads that the pandemic has affected not only human health but also one’s ability to enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms safely. According to the report, “some governments have used the crisis as an excuse to restrict rights and strengthen authoritarian rule. Other governments have relied on democratic values and processes, including a free press, transparency and accountability, to inform and protect their citizens."
Regarding Georgia, the document discusses independence of the judiciary, elections, politically motivated detentions, human rights situation in occupied territories, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, corruption, media freedom and rights of women, children, workers and LGBTI groups.
The report reads that the most significant human rights violations in 2020 included:
“Serious problems with the independence of the judiciary, including widespread politically motivated arrests, investigations and prosecutions; Illegal interference in private life, limited respect for peaceful assembly and demonstrations, and crimes involving violence or threats against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people.”
The document states that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has sent a limited number of observers to the October 31 parliamentary elections due to the pandemic. Observers said the election was competitive and, in general, fundamental rights were protected, although "widespread allegations of voter pressure and border blurring have eroded public confidence in some aspects of the process between the ruling party and state authorities."
A section of the State Department report on the Georgian judiciary states that concerns about the independence of the judiciary remain relevant, noting that the ombudsman, NGOs, and the international community have identified several issues during the year, including the influence of a High Council of Justice and a group of court leaders, reportedly stifled critical views in the judiciary, and blocked proposals for judicial independence. NGOs referred to this influential and non-reformist group of judges as the ‘clan’.
They discussed other issues as well, including the influence of the Supreme Council on the independence of individual judges, the manipulation of the case distribution system, the lack of transparency in the Supreme Council, and shortcomings in the appointment of judges and judges by the Supreme Council.
“The government has taken steps around certain officials to investigate human rights abuses, but impunity has remained a problem - including a lack of accountability for the use of inappropriate police force against journalists and demonstrators in June 2019 and the ousting of Azerbaijani journalist and activist In terms of secret travel,” the report reads.
The State Department report mentions the termination of the investigation into the death of Temirlan Machalikashvili in 2018, which the Prosecutor's Office called ‘no crime’ and noted that in its annual report, the Ombudsman called on the prosecutor's office to resume the investigation.
The State Department report also reads about the arrest of former members of the Delimitation Commission, Iveri Melashvili and Natalia Ilychova, and the fact that Georgian NGOs and the political opposition considered the case to be politically motivated.
The report discusses human rights violations in the law enforcement system, the increase in violence among prisoners, and the phenomenon of the so-called spectators in prisons.
Regarding political prisoners, the report reads that “in September 2019, 16 local NGOs expressed concern, in their words, about the increase in the number of politically motivated criminal investigations and prosecutions.” They referred to the case against two founders of TBC Bank, the case against the father of the former director of Rustavi 2 and the owner of the First TV Channel, and several cases of arrests of people protesting in June 2019. The report notes that President Salome Zurabishvili pardoned and released opposition figures Gigi Ugulava and Irakli Okruashvili from prison in May. The State Department noted that opposition continued to call for the release of Giorgi Rurua.
The report reads that in the Russian-occupied regions, illegal detention, killings, and travel bans remain a problem, especially for ethnic Georgians, and mentions the prohibition of their voting or participation in political processes, as well as prohibition of property and business ownership for ethnic Georgians.
“Given the lack of information on human rights and humanitarian situation in South Ossetia, the de facto government does not allow ethnic Georgians displaced during the 2008 conflict to return home. The de facto government also did not allow international organizations to send humanitarian aid. Russian ‘borderization’ of administrative borders has increased. In addition, the movement of residents is prohibited and their isolation from their own community and livelihood continues,” reads the document.
