The South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders

June 23, 2009

The South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders is extremely concerned about the arrests of activists of Georgian opposition political parties and violence used against demonstrators. These events have been continuing during last two months, starting from the kick off of the public demonstrations on April 9, 2009 and escalating recently.

The members of the Network are particularly concerned about the following facts that have been documented by local civil society organizations:

- Physical abuses of demonstrators – Participants in the demonstrations have been targeted by unidentified persons, who often in masks. Demonstrators have been bitten and threatened for the worst consequences if they continue to take part in the demonstrations;

- Arrests of activists – Several dozen activists of opposition political parties have been
arrested in last two months. Apart from the violations of procedural guarantees, based on the contextual circumstances, these arrests are politically motivated;

- Acts of intentionally provoking demonstrators– There have been several instances where law enforcement agencies intentionally provoked tensions among the participants of the demonstrations, which were followed by administrative detentions;
Each of the abovementioned acts is a blatant violation of the human rights of the political activists concerned. Moreover, politically motivated persecutions hamper the development processes in the country and contribute to the polarization of the government and the general public.

The South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders calls upon Georgian Authorities to:
- Investigate all acts of attacks on the demonstrators and punish those responsible;

- Release those activists who are detained on political grounds in relation to their political activities and put an end to the political arrests;

- Ensure that clashes between the representatives of the law enforcement agencies and
demonstrators are minimized and use administrative detention as a least resort in case of disobedience from the side on demonstrators;

- Respect the rights of the political activists as guaranteed by the Georgian Constitution
and international treaties ratified by Georgian.