Statement of Human Rights Center about the Recent Detention of Human Rights Defenders and Activists

Human Rights Center condemns the detention of human rights defenders Dachi Tsaguria and Beka Aladoshvili, as well as members of the political coalition Georgian Dream over the past few days.

We believe that the government’s repression of human rights defenders and politically active citizens, particularly at a time of obvious political crisis in the country, exceeds all boundaries.

Instead of seeking lawful solutions to the political deadlock in order that fair elections might take place on October 1, the government is further complicating an already tense political environment.

We consider the recent incidents of detention and physical violence against peaceful citizens as a continuation of the government’s policy which caused horrible and unbearable conditions in penitentiary institutions. Recent repeated incidents of violence convince us that the government of Georgia cannot realize the importance of the shocking video-footage and is not going to eradicate illegality in the country.

In addition,  Human Rights Center points out that  whilst pre-election processes were carried out at the edge of illegality until now, the recent facts prove that there is a real threat that this process will now definitively become an illegal one, making the elections useless.  Recent facts compel us to doubt the government’s desire to hold elections on the fixed day in a peaceful and fair environment.

Due to the aforementioned circumstances, we demand that the government immediately release detainees and conduct the election process within a legal framework. Otherwise, we, as a local observation organization, together with our partner organizations, will use all legal means of protest at our disposal; we will provide foreign observation organizations, various international organizations and embassies with detailed information and relevant complaints on the observed violations.

Human Rights Center
24.09.12