The Georgian Government admits before the European Court of Human Rights the violation of human Rights against the Participants of the Veterans’ Rally of January 3, 2011

On July 3, 2011, the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) and the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC) lodged a joint application to the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of the participants of the protest rally. On 4 May 2017, the European Court of Justice delivered a judgment [1].

The complaint referred to the dispersal of the peaceful rally at the Memorial of the Heroes fallen for the unity of Georgia from December 27, 2010 to January 3, 2011 by the representatives of law enforcement agencies where disproportionate force was applied against the protesters. The organizers of the rally were the veterans fighting for the restoration of territorial integrity of Georgia protesting against a sharp reduction in the amount of social allowances provided for veterans. On 4 January 2011, the Tbilisi City Court decided that the complainants were administrative offenders due to petty hooliganism and disobedience to the lawful request of the law enforcement authorities and were imposed a fine in the amount of 400 GEL.

In the complaint submitted to the European Court, GYLA requested the Court to establish the breach of the Article 3 of the Convention (Prohibition of Torture), Article 5 (Right to Liberty and Security), Article 6 (Right to Fair Trial) and Article 11 (Freedom of Assembly and Association).

On 1 October 2015 the European Court began to review the complaint with respect to the Articles 3 and 11 of the Convention.

On 3 May 2016, the Government of Georgia, on the basis of the Article 39 of the European Convention, offered the complainants to finalize the case by a friendly agreement. The Government of Georgia recognized the violation of the Article 3 (in the procedural part) and Article 11 of the Convention due to ill-treatment of the complainants and the breach of the right to assemble and undertook to pay compensations to the litigants.

The litigants agreed to the terms offered by the Georgian Government. On the basis of the agreement, the European Court dismissed the complaint "Asatiani and others v. Georgia" from the list of the cases to be considered.

Photo: Radio Tavisufleba

[1]http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{"respondent":["GEO"],"documentcollectionid2":["GRANDCHAMBER","CHAMBER","DECISIONS"],"itemid":["001-173587"]}