The NGO Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia) has reacted strongly to footage of police officers beating a Georgian citizen at a police station in Kobuleti (Adjara region).
The organization emphasized that the problem of police violence and impunity has existed in Georgia for many years and is not merely the actions of individual officers of the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs. Instead, TI believes it is a state policy for which Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the Georgian Dream party, and the current government bear responsibility.
Human rights advocates point out that this situation is a consequence of the “Dream’s” approaches and the “zero sympathy” policy repeatedly mentioned by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.
“It is precisely this approach of the ruling party and the ‘zero sympathy’ policy repeatedly voiced by Irakli Kobakhidze that condition the grim picture that society has been witnessing daily over the past months. For many years, this has not been the rogue actions of individual police officers — it is a state policy for which Bidzina Ivanishvili and the ruling party bear responsibility,” the organization’s statement reads.
For many years, the NGO has been demanding reform of the law enforcement system to create effective mechanisms for investigating cases of abuse of power.
However, the authors write, the previously established Special Investigation Service failed to solve the problem, and today it has been abolished by the authorities.
TI writes that an example of impunity is the case of a police officer detained on charges of abuse of power against a teenager, who was released on bail by a court in February 2026 after several months in custody.
The NGO states that no effective investigation has yet been conducted into the cases of torture and inhuman treatment by the police against approximately 300 people.
TI Georgia recalls its previous studies and statements regarding torture, beatings, illegal forced strip-searches of detainees, and other human rights violations by police officers.
