15 June 2009, 18:00
HRC: authorities of Georgia oppress their political opponents
The Human Rights Centre (HRC) has treated the actions of the policemen who used force against oppositionists last Friday, on June 12, as excessive. Human rights defenders assert that the clash could have been avoided.
In the opinion of Ana Natsvlishvili, a lawyer of the HRC in Tbilisi, the collision of the opposition and state officials could have been avoided. "The authorities knew that there would be an action of the opposition there. The officials could have escaped the confrontation," she said.
Ms Natsvlishvili has noted that the police and securities of the parliament applied excessive measures against oppositionists. "A video record shows that one policeman was holding a protester, and another one was beating the victim," she gave an example. The lawyer believes that the state and the police should have safeguarded themselves and protesters against clashes.
She named the arrests of a number of activists after the action to be a big problem. "After April 9, many such incidents have happened. Demonstrators were attacked, kidnapped and beaten. Oppositionists were humiliated, but the police and prosecutor's office failed to react to any of these incidents," said Ms Natsvlishvili.
She has expressed the idea that Georgia now tends to use the law not for executing justice but to "hold repressions against political opponents."
Author: Alexander Baklanov Source: CK correspondent
