“Disturbing reports” of “assaults, threats” on human rights defenders in Georgia - UN Special Rapporteur
She added on Wednesday “many HRDs reportedly received threatening calls from unknown numbers”. Photo via UN
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Mary Lawlor, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for human rights defenders, on Wednesday said she had received “disturbing reports” of assault and threats on HRDs in Georgia.
“At least three” human rights defenders were assaulted by the police while they were “monitoring and peacefully participating in protests” against the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence, Lawlor noted.
She added on Wednesday “many HRDs reportedly received threatening calls from unknown numbers”.
Several activists, journalists, bloggers and citizens, protesting the transparency bill, which calls for the registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad, have received threatening calls from unknown callers, the media reported.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday said the Political Council of the ruling Georgian Dream party had decided to create a database of information about individuals "involved in violence, other illegal actions, threats and blackmail, or publicly approve of such actions" on the backdrop of ongoing protests against a bill on the transparency of foreign influence.
The Special Investigation Service on Tuesday said it had launched an investigation into an assault on Giorgi Kldiashvili, the Executive Director of the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information and the Formula TV camera crew earlier today.
The attacks on people for having “different or critical opinions” are “inadmissible and unacceptable”, Georgian Public Defender Levan Ioseliani said on Tuesday regarding recent assaults on several persons.
Levan Ioseliani, the Georgian Public Defender, on Wednesday called on protesters against the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence to maintain a “peaceful form of gathering” while also urging law enforcement to “refrain from interfering with the freedom of expression of our citizens”.