3 years have passed since the events of July 5-6, 2021, however, until now not all episodes of possible crimes have been properly investigated – most of the perpetrators of organized gang violence, as well as the organizers, continue to go unpunished, and the question of the responsibility of state officials is still ignored by investigative bodies, – This was mentioned in the information released by the “Young Lawyers Association of Georgia”.
GYLA says the Tbilisi City Court has received guilty verdicts against several people, on the facts of persecution and violence, participation in organized group violence, and health damage due to journalistic activities. Despite this, based on the organization’s assessment, not all alleged criminals have been identified so far.
“3 years have passed since the events of July 5-6, 2021, however, until now, not all episodes of possible crimes have been properly investigated. As is known to the public, Saya protects the interests of 19 people affected by the violent events that took place on July 5-6, 2021. Of these, 17 persons are representatives of various media organizations, and 2 persons were physically assaulted by violent groups due to their association with the LGBT+ group due to accompanying persons and various accessories.
GYLA was in active communication with investigative agencies throughout the past period, however, unfortunately, there was no immediate response to the sent statements and complaints, which revealed that there was an ineffective investigation at the national level. During the past 3 years, the Tbilisi City Court has received guilty verdicts against several people, on the facts of persecution and violence, participation in organized group violence and health damage due to journalistic activities. Despite this, not all the alleged criminals have been identified so far.
Since the rights of the victims/applicants were not properly protected at the domestic level, SAIA applied to the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of the representatives of the media organizations. The case concerns the violation of Articles 3 (prohibition of torture), 10 (freedom of expression), 13 (right to an effective remedy) and 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the European Convention. At the moment, the response stage of the parties has been completed and the applicants are waiting for the decision of the Strasbourg Court.
It is important to note that most of the perpetrators of organized gang violence, as well as the organizers, continue to go unpunished, and the question of the accountability of state officials is still ignored by investigative bodies. Both the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament called on the state agencies to effectively investigate the events of July 5-6. Among them, the resolution of June 9, 2022 states that the impunity of the perpetrators of such actions cannot be tolerated under any circumstances, because it violates both the national legislation of Georgia and the international obligations of the state”, – it is noted in the information released by GYLA.
