Human Rights in Georgia -

Human Rights in Georgia
Report 2005
Next Stop – Belarus?

Another year has passed since the Georgian democratic ‘Rose Revolution’ of November 2003. Another year for the new government to deliver upon the expectations and hopes it had deliberately raised for the inhabitants of Georgia and the international community, another year to show that it had the genuine and altruistic intention of breaking with the past, which too often proved to be corrupt, cynical, and careless. Another year to put an end to the same plays, merely with different sets and actors, and to attempt the establishment of a realm within which a more just, open, and liveable society for all could be created.

In December 2004, the Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre (HRIDC) published its first report on the human rights situation in Georgia after the ‘Rose Revolution’. The report – ‘One Step Forward, Two Steps Back’ dealt with the tendencies in the field of human rights after the hope-giving change of power. Together with positive developments, like the creation of the Patrol Police, the peaceful transition of authority in the Adjara region, anti corruptive measures, and reforms carried out in different governmental structures, the report described the existing anti-democratic tendencies and massive human rights violations caused by neglect of the rule of law and general lack of respect for ‘the human’ on the side of the new government. Unfortunately, the proliferation of anti-democratic tendencies has not come to an end in 2005 and significant setbacks have been observed in several fields. Step by step, Georgia is acquiring all the signs of a police state.

The field of freedom of expression has clearly received the most serious setback. Arbitrary detentions, beatings, grenade attacks, defamation and pressure against journalists have almost become daily business. Dozens of journalists fell victim to pressure, violence, and arbitrary detention in 2005. Several media holdings have been closed down. According to “Reporters without Frontiers”, the media freedom index of Georgia continues to drop catastrophically and has moved back with 26 steps compared to last years. The central government not only proves to be unable to secure the rights of journalists, but sometimes even acts as the initiator of pressure and harassment.

Other areas show problematic signs as well. The judiciary has finally become simply the government’s “appendix”. Pressure against independent minded judges is mounting, with few judges daring to speak about it openly, as those who do are often punished. Impunity among law enforcers is still syndromatic and nobody is trying to seriously overcome it. Torture and maltreatment of detainees remains an unresolved problem. The right to assembly and manifestation, which is guaranteed by the Constitution, has frequently been violated. Peaceful protests and demonstrations have been forcefully dispersed and demonstrators detained. Such decreases the opportunity and motivation for the populace to express their discontent. Politically motivated kidnappings and bloody special operations create an atmosphere of terror in society. Political imprisonment is real in Georgia. Chechen refugees are sacrificed to pro Russian politics in this field and suffer from negative stereotypes. Violations of socio-economic rights, including mass dismissals of civil servants, have obtained a systematic character. Civil organizations get marginalized and neglected, and independent NGOs are ignored and suffer from pressure from different high-ranking officials.

Organizations like the Council of Europe, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the World Organization against Torture (OMCT), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights and many others have addressed the developments in Georgia attempting to adequately reflect the unfolding processes and to provide recommendations for improvements. Unfortunately, the government continues to ignore these recommendations.

The current report shall primarily provide a mosaic picture of examples of real-life cases that have occurred in the year 2005 in Georgia related to human rights and fundamental freedoms. While analytical pieces are included as well, there is no pretension of either fullness or the provision of an ‘aggregate’ statement on the human rights situation in Georgia. As the Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre (HRIDC) takes a broad view on the notion of human rights, not only the ‘classical’ rights, but a variety of fields that touch upon the basics of human life shall be highlighted. This report aims to be valuable in consort with the often more abstract human rights reports of other organizations. Also, it can serve as a source of original information to be used in other publications. The information presented was gathered by journalists, media observers, and legal aid centre specialists of the HRIDC and by other lawyers.

The purpose of the current report ‘Next Stop – Belarus?’ is to bring facts of human rights violations into the open and to inform the government and the Georgian and international communities about the indicators of the most recent tendencies in the field of human rights violations in 2005. It should draw attention to the practical situation concerning the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms within the country, so that adequate measures can be taken in this field. The massive scale on which rights are violated and the inadequate reaction to such violations by the government give us the right to cry out to the international community about the alarming situation in Georgia and to call upon the government to protect the principles it has itself declared. We want these facts to encourage discussion and analysis, which may pave the way for a just and open society.

Overall, it would not be surprising if an observer of the state of affairs in Georgia would get the feeling that in sum and in practice, too little has actually moved to the positive since the revolution. Problematic in this respect is the lack of real changes in the institutional structures and working methods. While certainly some successes have been achieved, this was mainly due to the efforts of individuals. This makes these improvements very fickle – as soon as the ‘enlightened’ person is dismissed or leaves his or her post, the situation is very likely to degrade into its previous state.