Responding to the persistent and widespread use of unlawful force by police in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, after four consecutive nights of protests, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “The Georgian authorities must end their violent crackdown, which has inflicted physical, psychological and legal harm on those exercising their…

Reacting to the violent dispersal of what started as peaceful protest in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director, said: “The Georgian authorities have launched yet another punitive operation against peaceful protesters. The use of water cannons, tear gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets aimed at protesters’ faces…

Reacting to the news that police in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, have violently dismantled a protesters’ tent camp, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “The Georgian authorities must fully comply with their obligations to respect and protect the right to freedom of assembly. People have a right to peacefully…

Reacting to a violent attack by unknown men on a civic activist in Georgia just hours after he was accused in a social media post by the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament of participating in an “organized and politically motivated campaign of terror”, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia,…

Reacting to the Georgian parliament’s decision to override the presidential veto on the “foreign influence” bill, amid open threats by a top police official to peaceful protesters, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “The vote to override the presidential veto goes a long way to demonstrate how confident and…

Reacting to the final adoption of the restrictive “foreign influence” bill by the Parliament of Georgia, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “Today Georgia’s governing party bulldozed through this harmful law, which tramples on the human rights of all people in Georgia.” “This damaging bill contravenes Georgia’s international obligations…

Responding to renewed unlawful use of force by police against peaceful protesters in Tbilisi following parliament’s decision to approve “foreign influence” legislation in Georgia, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “As the Georgian authorities push through this harmful legislation, they have openly endorsed the repression of human rights and…

Reacting to last night’s violent attacks by unknown individuals on prominent government critics who had joined protests in Tbilisi, Georgia, against the controversial “foreign influence” bill, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “The reprisals in Georgia against those who oppose the bill ‘on foreign influence’ have now escalated…

Responding to news that police in Georgia violently dispersed an overwhelmingly peaceful demonstration in Tbilisi, where protestors rallied against the controversial “foreign influence” bill, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “What we witnessed in Tbilisi yesterday was a brutal retribution against people for exercising their right to protest…

Responding to news that the Georgian Parliament made the first steps to approve the contentious bill “On transparency of foreign influence,” which is similar to last year’s widely contested and ultimately withdrawn “foreign agents” bill, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:   “We urgently call on the Georgian authorities…

Reacting to the news that Georgia’s ruling party has proposed a discriminatory constitutional bill that, among other restrictions, bans any public expression of opinion or public gatherings that could be regarded as “promoting same-sex relationships,” Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director, said: “This proposed initiative is a blatant attack on…