**Opposition Groups in Georgia Announce Plan to Create Registry of Police Abuses**
On December 6, four major opposition forces in Georgia – Coalition for Change, Strong Georgia, Unity-UNM, and Gakharia for Georgia – announced a plan to create a public registry of people who have been illegally detained and police officers involved in violent actions against peaceful demonstrators.
The registry will serve three main purposes. It will provide detailed information about those targeted by the government’s actions, help identify police officers responsible for excessive force, and provide materials for perpetrators to be held accountable in international courts.
According to Ana Natsvlishvili of Strong Georgia, the objective of this mechanism is to “prompt the imposition of international criminal responsibility” on perpetrators. The leaders explained that their goal was not only to clarify who had been assaulted by the government but also to identify those who committed the violence.
**Assisting Victims and Exposing Police Abuses**
The initiative aims to assist individuals who have been tortured or subjected to excessive force during arrests. Unity-UNM’s Tamar Kordzaia highlighted three key concerns regarding ongoing violence. She noted that journalists and media representatives are being targeted, that violence is increasing in “buffer zones” where the public cannot witness or objectively assess the situation, and that raids on offices of political parties and activists are violating Georgia’s criminal code.
**Condemning Practices**
The leaders strongly condemned these practices, emphasizing that they violate both Article 9 (Inviolability of human dignity) of the Constitution of Georgia and Article 3 (Prohibition of torture) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
**Background: Recent Protests and Clampdown**
The recent wave of protests followed Irakli Kobakhidze’s announcement to halt Georgia’s EU integration efforts, triggering a brutal crackdown on peaceful protests. The Public Defender’s Office has described the actions of the riot police as ‘acts of torture’, while the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) has stated that the systematic and violent repression of the civilian population should be considered a crime against humanity.
**International Response**
In response to these violations, international partners have already imposed sanctions on Georgian officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and on Bidzina Ivanishvili, the country‘s de facto ruler. The situation continues to draw widespread condemnation both within Georgia and from the international community.
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