12 May 2009, 14:00
Human rights activists call authorities of Georgia to investigate into attacks on rally participants
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called the authorities of Georgia to hold investigation into the facts of attacks on supporters of the opposition in the course of the protest actions held in Tbilisi with the demand of President Mikhail Saakashvili's resignation. This is the topic of the HRW's statement published in its official website.
"Justice can't be a subject of agreement," runs the statement of Georgiy Gogiya, HRW's researcher for Southern Caucasus.
"The authorities can make a decision not to prosecute the protesters should they commit an offence, but they can't give up their obligations to defend human rights. We have data that there were gross violations of human rights in the context of protest actions, and the authorities should investigate them," Mr Gogiya's statement says.
The document says that the organization has documentary confirmations of attacks on oppositional demonstrators. The HRW believes that "these were attempts to intimidate the protesters and undermine their right to assembly."
In the course of April protest actions, human rights organizations and opposition parties reported about dozens of attacks on oppositional activists and supporters, as the "Georgia Online" writes.
