The NGO GYLA (Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association) has announced that the organization has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) concerning systematic torture against demonstrators in November–December 2024.
Tamar Oniani, head of the organization, stated that the litigation strategy outlined in the complaint aims to assess the scale of violations and confirm in the Strasbourg Court the damage caused not only to citizens but also to the constitutional order as a result of the actions of law enforcement, investigative, and other bodies.
According to her, there is evidence confirming that the dispersal of protests was not an isolated mistake or a poorly executed operation—it was organized criminal violence and the beginning of an acute human rights crisis that has unfolded in the country since November 28, 2024.
“Therefore, the court must evaluate not only violations of specific articles, such as the prohibition of torture, discrimination, freedom of assembly, and the right to property, but also in the context of Article 17 of the Convention. This article is being applied to Georgia for the first time in a case involving demonstrations, allowing us to present the fact of democratic erosion to the court and prove that the state acted not merely to restrict freedom of assembly and expression, but to destroy these rights,” Oniani stated.
GYLA established that alongside the dispersal of the protest, special forces detained people without grounds, beat them outside the police cordon, and subjected them to even more brutal treatment away from cameras.
“The violence continued in specially equipped minibuses, where people were beaten in groups with hands, feet, batons, and other objects, primarily targeting the head and face; personal belongings were seized, and victims were insulted and threatened with sexual violence. Subsequently, the victims were handed over to other police officers and taken to stations where, during the processing of the detention, fictitious reports were typically drawn up,” Oniani stated.
According to her, the fact that this was not an individual abuse of power but a deliberate state strategy “is confirmed by the public rewarding of those who carried out the violence by high-ranking officials and the impunity of the responsible officers.”
The NGO emphasizes that to date, no one has been held accountable, nor has a single step been taken to establish the responsibility of state officials.
In this regard, GYLA believes that domestic remedies have been exhausted and is appealing to the ECHR to establish a legal assessment of the case.
