Human rights organizations are closely following the mass protest in Tbilisi and other cities in recent days and declare their solidarity with Saralidze and Dadunashvili families.
Failure of the authorities to adequately respond to the ongoing developments and thousands of people that have taken to the streets in protest are a clear indication of a crisis situation in the country. The wave of public protest is not only about the problem of inadequate investigation of the Khorava Street incident, but more broadly, it is an expression of grievances that were building in society against the unfair justice system and social policy.
Public grievances are first and foremost caused by practices of political corruption and disregard of fundamental human rights in the system of law enforcement and the judiciary. Political office holders, who were directly responsible for implementation of reforms in the field of criminal law and justice, failed to fulfill this function, which is clearly connected with the lack of the authorities’ political will and the problem of ignoring public opinion. Majority of reforms declared by the government in the system of law-enforcement and the judiciary has proven to be
pro-form and these reforms have done nothing to eliminate the public’s sense of deep injustice and vulnerability. Recent high-profile cases have clearly shown the problem of excessive use of authority by the law-enforcement, which has not been followed by an effective investigation.
Current crisis stresses the need for clear political will for the meaningful, timely and fundamental elimination of systemic problems that have built up over time. In light of this, the signatory organizations believe that the authorities should take the following steps:
International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED)
Open Society Foundation
Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC)
Georgian Democratic Initiative (GDI)
Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association
Transparency International – Georgia
Human Rights Center
Article 42 of the Constitution
Partnership for Human Rights (PHR)
Institute for Democracy and Safe Development (IDSD)
Equality Movement
Temida
Tolerance and Diversity Institute (TDI)
Media Development Fund (MDF)
Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI)
Sapari
Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group (WISG)