Eviction of IDPs from the building that formerly housed the hotel Abkhazia was finished on August 15. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) believes that there were no legal grounds for eviction of some of the IDPs living in the noted building, as by the time of the eviction they had not yet agreed to offers of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia.

As GYLA has noted a number of times in its statements released earlier, the Law of Georgia on the Internally Displaced Persons categorically prohibits forceful eviction of IDPs from a compact settlement before restoration of the jurisdiction on corresponding territory of Georgia, until corresponding decision is delivered by court. Under the Georgian legislation, the police should have immediately terminated eviction procedures upon submission of an IDP card (certifying lawful ownership). We believe that eviction of families registered in the hotel Abkhazia whom written agreements had not yet been concluded with or who had not yet been offered with an alternative living space by the time of the eviction (that would not deteriorate their living conditions), contradicts applicable legal provisions; therefore, we consider that the law was violated against these IDPs.

GYLA offers free legal assistance to all IDPs whose rights were violated by their forceful eviction from the hotel Abkhazia.