Civil activist Sergi Kancheli, who has fled Georgia, has reported being subjected to physical and sexual assault by police. According to Kancheli, the incident occurred on September 27 while he was out for a jog.
The activist claims that six police officers stopped him, drove him to a cemetery, and spent roughly 50 minutes beating, threatening, and sexually assaulting him. According to Kancheli, the officers slashed his face with a knife, held firearms to his head, chest, and other parts of his body, and coerced him into performing sexual acts.
“He pulled down [my clothes] and said that I had to give him a ‘blowjob,’ but I refused. He also offered it to the other officers: ‘Come on, guys!’” Kancheli recounted.
According to the activist, every action taken by the police officers targeted his civic stance: alongside physical and verbal abuse, as well as sexual violence, they called him “Akatsuki” (a derogatory label used for youth protesters) and mocked his views.
Kancheli posted about the alleged assault on social media and later described it in detail in an interview with TV Pirveli. Following the incident, he said he left Georgia and is currently in a safe country.
“Many know how difficult it was for me to accept the thought that I might one day have to leave Georgia, but ‘Georgian Dream’ and its police regime managed to turn my life into hell. Since my departure from the country means nothing to the officers who committed this crime, I have filed a complaint against these monsters so they can be identified and brought to justice. Everyone must know their names and the crime they committed,” Kancheli wrote.
The activist stated that he intends to pursue a full legal assessment of the incident and hold all law enforcement officers involved in the assault accountable.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has already launched an investigation into the alleged abuse of official authority through violence (Article 333, Part 3, Sub-paragraph “b” of the Criminal Code). The agency stated that all necessary investigative and procedural actions will be conducted, and the findings will be made public in due course.
