Human Rights Watch, an international human rights group, released its annual World Report, which contains a chapter outlining the dramatic human rights-related occurrences in Georgia in 2021.
The chapter on Georgia addresses a number of issues, including a lack of accountability for law enforcement abuses, attacks on journalists, dwindling media freedom, violence against LGBT+ persons, police intervention in freedom of assembly, child institutionalisation, and dangers to labour safety.
According to the study, "impunity for law enforcement abuses remained a recurrent problem" in 2021, citing statistics from the Public Defender's Office, which received 133 complaints of maltreatment by prison officials or police. According to the paper, the investigations are still underway after the Ombudsperson requested that the State Inspector's Office look into the matter.
In February 2021, police detained 20 activists in a skirmish that followed the seizure of a protest tent; raided United National Movement headquarters to detain party chair, Nika Melia; apprehended 21 people during the operation on charges of civil disobedience; and allegedly used tear gas, according to the HRW.
The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, a local watchdog, condemned police for inadmissible activities during the operation, according to the report.
The HRW also covered the July 5 homophobic pogroms, in which far-right gangs attacked 53 journalists, including Aleksandre Lashkarava, who died six days later after suffering terrible injuries. It claims that, even though the final forensic results had not been released at the time of writing, Lashkarava's family and the third sector had rejected the original conclusions that he died of a drug overdose.
During the pogroms, police were present, but failed to prevent the violent episodes, according to the record.
The homophobic pogroms are mentioned again in the report, with HRW recalling that on July 5, far-right crowds trashed Tbilisi Pride's headquarters and broke into the offices of numerous CSOs.
The paper adds, "rather than safeguarding the safety and freedom of assembly of the Pride organisers and participants, the authorities appeared to blame them."
It cites Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili's contentious statements that conducting the Pride rally in a public place would be "unreasonable," as well as the Interior Ministry's caution to the March for Dignity organisers not to stage the march on Rustaveli Avenue. As a result of the unbridled mob violence on July 5, the event was cancelled.
The document highlights the Georgian Orthodox Church-run Ninotsminda orphanage, which has twice refused to allow the Public Defender's Office to monitor it, sparking a controversy that resulted in the revelation of four ongoing investigations into physical and sexual abuse of children at the facility. The bulk of the residents were eventually moved to other facilities or adopted by foster families.
In June, the Tbilisi City Court found that separating children from their families' poverty was unconstitutional, a decision described by Partnership for Human Rights, a local NGO, as unprecedented.
In terms of political events, the study notes that after GD secured a strong majority in the polls, the opposition disputed the results of the 2021 municipal elections and called for violent protests. The elections were technically well-run, according to the paper, but marred by charges of voter coercion, vote-buying, and an uneven playing field, according to foreign observers.
