Georgian Parliament Approves Conclusion of Temporary Investigative Committee

On September 3, a special resolution was adopted at a plenary session of the Georgian Parliament, which approved the report of the temporary investigative committee that had been submitted the day before. The document was supported by 85 members of the legislative body.

The draft resolution was presented by Irakli Kirtskhalia, who was elected today as the Chairman of the Georgian Dream party.

On September 2, a voluminous report of the temporary investigative committee — 473 pages — was submitted to the Georgian Parliament for consideration. The investigative body, created at the initiative of the ruling Georgian Dream party, analyzed the period of Mikheil Saakashvili's presidency (2004-2012), but the document also examines the events of subsequent years.

According to the commission's findings, during Saakashvili's rule, there was a "systematic practice of torture and inhuman treatment" of detainees and prisoners. It is emphasized that the cruelty was widespread, was elevated to the rank of state policy, and was carried out with the direct participation of high-ranking officials.

Key points of the document:

✅ torture, violence and humiliation were used daily and served as instruments of political repression, pressure and illegal seizure of property;

✅ deliberate deterioration of prisoners' health was recorded in prisons, including the spread of tuberculosis and restrictions on treatment for hepatitis C;

✅ the prosecutor's office and courts not only failed to investigate the facts of cruelty, but also participated in violations themselves;

✅ the media controlled by the authorities kept silent about what was happening.

The report records cases of murders, rapes and fabricated criminal cases, in which, according to the commission, government officials were involved. The European Court of Human Rights has issued hundreds of decisions against Georgia, about 80% of which concern the time of the United National Movement's rule.

A separate section of the report talks about corruption and pressure on business. Cases of arrests of entrepreneurs and forcing them to hand over property are mentioned. In addition, the commission concludes that Saakashvili's policies have damaged the country's territorial integrity: starting with the closure of the Ergneti market and the termination of programs in the Tskhinvali region and ending with the consequences of the August 2008 war. After it, the number of settlements occupied by Russia increased to 474, including, in particular, the Kodori Gorge. It also notes the 2019 decision, when, by order of the Minister of Internal Affairs Giorgi Gakharia, a checkpoint was set up in the village of Chorchana, which also affected the situation with territorial integrity.

The commission recommends that the current President of the country, Mikheil Kavelashvili, review the awards given during that period to persons considered involved in crimes against human rights, as well as continue working to restore the violated property rights of the victims of the "National Movement" regime.

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