World Report 2014: Human Rights in Georgia

"Investigations into torture and ill-treatment in custody were slow and lacked transparency.

This and several more human right violation facts have been highlighted in the Georgian section of the Human Rights Watch World Report 2014 - one of the worlds leading independent organisations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights.

The report claimed investigations into past cases of abuse raised serious concerns regarding selective justice and politically motivated prosecutions in Georgia.

The report revealed police did not adequately respond to several violent incidents against religious minorities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.

The report highlighted an issue in June 2013 when 14 former prison officials were convicted by the courts for physically and sexually abusing prisoners, secret video evidence revealed.

Six received prison terms ranging from three to six years and eight plea-bargained and received sentences ranging from six months to five years.

However Vladimer Bedukadze was fully released from criminal responsibility because he provided information about the torture even though he was also involved, the report said.

At the time, this move was criticized heavily by local and international communities.

The detention of ex-Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili was also highlighted in the report. It outlined that 35 former officials from a variety of ministries had been charged with abuse of office, embezzlement and false arrest.

"The authorities did not explain the criteria they used to determine which cases of past abuses to investigate and while investigating past abuses prosecutors questioned over 6,000 persons, mostly UNM [United National Movement] party activists. Both factors caused the opposition to allege its activists were subject to politically motivated pressure, the report claimed.

Meanwhile in 2013 when the Georgian Interior Ministry destroyed more than 181 hours of secret video recordings of individuals private lives, this was positively assessed by Human Rights Watch. However, the report said freedom of religion and sexual orientation as well as freedom of assembly had not been protected properly.

The organisation provided several cases of Muslims rights violation in Georgia as an example.

"Although the Prime Minister made several public statements condemning the violence, little action was taken to hold the offenders accountable, the report said.

A violent clash condemning gay rights was also highlighted.

"On May 17, 2013, a peaceful gathering to mark International Day Against Homophobia was violently disrupted by thousands of counter-demonstrators, including some Orthodox clergy.

On a positive note, the October 2013 presidential election was positively assessed in the report.

The country "completed a peaceful transition of power in Georgia after difficult cohabitation between Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and his political rival President Mikheil Saakashvili, the report stated.