The Strasbourg Court found a violation in the case of June 20, 2019. The decision of the European Court of Human Rights confirms the systemic problems that are revealed during the investigation into the facts of the dispersal of rallies by the state.
Complaints concern the excess of force by the state during the dispersal of the so-called “Gavrilov night” and the failure to conduct an effective investigation into the actions taken.
The court made a decision on the case of 26 persons, of which the interests of 22 persons were represented by the Association of Young Lawyers of Georgia (GYLA) together with the European Center for the Protection of Human Rights (EHRAC).
“The applicants are 26 Georgian nationals. The case concerns the dispersal of a protest on 20-21 June 2019 from the front of the Parliament building in Tbilisi. The protest was sparked by a prominent member of the Russian Duma’s sitting in the Speaker’s chair in the Georgian Parliament and delivering a speech in Russian as part of a session of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy. The applicants were either participants in the demonstration, or journalists reporting on the protests.
Relying, explicitly or in substance, on Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention, the applicants allege that their injuries were a result of excessive use of force, and that the investigation into this matter was not effective. The applicants also rely on Articles 10 (freedom of expression), 11 (freedom of assembly) and 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the Convention.
Some of the applicants also allege, under Article 38 (examination of the case), that the Government failed in their duty to proactively inform the Court of developments relevant to their case, in particular new legislation.
The European Court has found violation of Article 3 (ineffective criminal investigation), and no violation of Article 38.
On 20 June 2019 a session of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO – an interparliamentary institution based in Athens, set up to foster relations between Christian Orthodox lawmakers) was held in the Parliament building. S.G. – a member of the Russian State Duma and, at the time of events, President of the General Assembly of the IAO – sat in the chair reserved for the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament and delivered a speech in the Russian language. This turn of events sparked widespread civic and political protest and was criticized as unacceptable,” reads the judgement by the Strasbourg Court.
See the full judgement
