Torture and brutality complaints as Georgia’s Kobakhidze govt cracks down on protesters

The United Nations has called the treatment of Georgian protestors by the police “unnecessary and disproportionate” as people get treated in hospitals with severe injuries.

More than 300 people have been arrested in the country for protesting the governing party’s decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union while 15 demonstrators have been admitted to hospital.

The Black Sea nation has been in turmoil since the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in the October 26 parliamentary elections denounced by the opposition as rigged.

Protestors have been withstanding extreme torture at the hands of police officials trying to thwart people’s movement. Georgia’s human rights chief has called the use of force by police “brutality and torture” while the UN’s rights chief has said it is “extremely worrying.”

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‘Can’t feel my limbs’

Talking to BBC, a protestor, who is currently getting treated at the hospital, described his harrowing experience at the demonstrations.

“When I opened my eyes a third time I couldn’t feel my legs or hands - I couldn’t even move my head,” said Avandtil Kuchava.

“After I opened my eyes the third time, someone broke my collarbone with his hand. Then I blacked out, and the next time I came round I was being taken to the police station in a car,” he added.

Police in the early hours of Wednesday cleared demonstrators from Tbilisi’s main avenue outside the parliament building, using tear gas and water cannons, then chased fleeing people throughout the city and made arrests.

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Videos are a testament to the police brutality withstood by protestors. One such footage showed a middle-aged man being punched and pushed to the ground while another showed a young man lying on the floor as he was repeatedly kicked in the head.

Another man in his early 20s was hit by a gas canister which targeted one of his eyes and was later taken to the hospital where he was placed in an induced coma.

Protestors face legal action

Apart from withstanding police brutality, many protestors now have legal cases against them.

A woman named Nana Tomaradze, who was heard shouting, “You garbage people! I’m tired, so what do you want? Are you afraid of me?” as she braved the water cannons, has to now pay £720 for her actions. That is her equivalent to her two months’ wages.

With inputs from agencies