On November 5, a group of local civil society organizations convened a press conference at the office of Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF) to discuss the issue of granting victim status to the people injured during the June 20-21 developments as well as to analyze the circumstances proving the need for granting victim status to these people.
According to official figures, 275 persons sustained injuries during the June 20-21 developments, among them 187 civilians, 15 journalists (according to various sources, number of injured journalists is 32) and 73 police officers. 28 persons needed surgery due to injuries, among them eight persons underwent ophthalmologic surgery and four persons – neurosurgery. [1] It is confirmed that two civilians lost an eye as a result of the injury; moreover, several victims suffered significant damage to their eyesight.
Against this background, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has granted victim status only to four persons so far. The Prosecutor’s Office explains that there is no legal ground for granting a victim status; it, however, does not fully reflect the existing practice.
“Our partner organization took the cases of 16 persons to the court and received the same unjustified response from the court,” Keti Khutsishvili, Open Society Georgia Foundation.
During the press conference, the civil society organizations released a statement, calling on the Prosecutor’s Office “to grant the victim status to all the injured people duly and to carry out a timely, comprehensive and impartial investigation into the case.”
The Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has launched the investigation into alleged abuse of power by certain officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with the use of force and weapons, during the dispersal of the rally and protesters on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi on June 20-21, 2019. However, only four civilians were granted victim status. [2] The Prosecutor’s Office, along with others, refused to grant victim status to Mako Gomuri and Giorgi Sulashvili, who lost their eyes after being hit with a rubber bullet. The victim status has yet to be granted to journalists, who sustained severe injuries, among them Tamar Bagashvili and Irakli Khvadagiani; the latter sustained injuries following his administrative detention by the police.
Meanwhile, it emerged that within the framework of the investigation carried out by the Interior Ministry, 17 protesters were charged and 67 employees of the Interior Ministry were recognized as victims. [3]
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, there is no legal ground for granting a victim status. On the one hand, the Prosecutor’s Office confirms that “the mentioned persons sustained injuries on June 20-21, during the dispersal of the protest rally and the medical documentation/information obtained into the case confirms the facts of serious damage to their health.” However, it does not consider this to be a sufficient ground for granting a victim status and is waiting for the results of forensic examination. The Prosecutor’s Office explains that in order to grant a victim status, it is important for the forensic examination to determine the degree and the mechanism of injuries, specific circumstances and reasons for the use of active special means. The Tbilisi City Court has also refused to grant status to 16 victims. The court explained that, with the probable cause on the case, it is impossible to establish that the crime has been committed and which particular crime has caused any type of damage to the person. Chief Prosecutor Shalva Tadumadze also made an explanation regarding the refusal to grant victim status to Mako Gomuri, saying that “the court has taken into consideration the legal mechanisms and the current Georgian legislation. Accordingly, she was not granted victim status. If the legislation is changed in this regard, then she will be granted the victim status. Under current legislation, she cannot be granted the status; therefore she does not have this status.”
We would like to emphasize that current legislation explicitly establishes the legal basis for granting a victim status. A victim is a person that has been incurred moral, physical or material damage as a result of a crime. [4] Accordingly, when it is established that the crime has caused any type of damage, the prosecutor is obliged to grant victim status to a person, regardless of whether the person, who has committed a crime has been identified or not. The June 20-21 cases clearly show that part of the victims sustained injuries as a result of illegal use of rubber bullets, among them rubber bullets were targeted to journalists, who were on the scene to cover the developments. Part of the victims sustained injuries when they were staying under effective police control. All the above-listed cases contain clear signs of crime.
The actions of the Court and the Prosecutor’s Office confirm that the state does not want to acknowledge the harm inflicted on the civilians, including journalists, by the law enforcement officers, as a result of June 20-21 developments that cast doubt over the entire process of the investigation. The status of a victim has not only symbolic importance during the investigation and after being granted victim status, but a person also has access to the case files. Ultimately, this is one of the important guarantees of an impartial and comprehensive investigation. Given the arguments above,
We call on the Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia:
- To immediately grant victim status to all persons injured during the June 20-21 developments as a result of police actions;
- To conduct an effective, impartial and objective investigation into the case in a timely manner;
- Considering the high public interest, to inform the society periodically on the progress of the ongoing investigation into the case.
[1] The letter (#01/13936 dated August 1, 2019) of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia
[2] The letter (#13/70105 dated October 4, 2019) of the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia.
[3] The same.
[4] Paragraph 22 of Article 3 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia;
[1] The letter (#01/13936 dated August 1, 2019) of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia
Signatory organizations: