ECHR: Georgian police failed to prevent gender-based violence in case of lecturer killed by ex-husband
In 2014, 35 cases of female homicide were recorded, In following years this number has decreased, the Public Defender of Georgia reported. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Georgian police systemically failed to prevent gender-based violence in the case of English-language lecturer Marika Tsivtsivadze who was murdered by her ex-husband, The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has stated.
The Court found that police must have been aware that the applicant’s daughter had been in danger. Despite the various protective measures that they could have implemented, they had failed to prevent gender-based violence against her, which culminated in her death,” the judgement of ECHR says.
The mother of the killed lecturer Taliko Tkhelidze lodged the application with ECHR on April 13, 2017, after several unanswered criminal complaints on a local level, emphasising ‘that the inaction of the police could be seen as gender-based discrimination,’ says the document.
An investigation into the case was opened but was discontinued on December 31, 2014, as the person liable for the crime was deceased:
According to various records and reports drawn up by the police, neither the applicant nor her daughter had been advised of their procedural rights or the legislative and administrative measures of protection available to them under the Criminal Code and the Domestic Violence Act,” ECHR judgement says.
The court noted that between April 29 and October 16, 2014, deceased Marika Tsivtsivadze and her mother Taliko Tkhelidze had requested help from the police ‘on at least 11 occasions.’
ECHR stated that the police had been informed that the killer ‘suffered from pathological jealousy, was mentally unstable and had anger-management issues. He himself had admitted that he had threatened to kill the applicant’s daughter, had a criminal record and a history of drug and alcohol abuse.’
However, the law-enforcement authorities had persistently failed to take steps that could have mitigated the harm or altered the tragic outcome,” emphasises the document.
The court unanimously held that Georgia has to pay the applicant 35,000 EUR in respect of non-pecuniary damage.
In 2014, 35 cases of female homicide were recorded, In following years this number has decreased, the Public Defender of Georgia reported.
4,633 individuals were charged for domestic violence and crimes throughout Georgia in 2020, which is 5.4 per cent more compared to the previous year, Chief Prosecutor Irakli Shotadze said while presenting his body’s annual report today.
A large-scale campaign to combat violence against women in Georgia will be launched, reports the press office of the Government Administration. The Ministries of Justice, Interior, Regional Development, Health, Education and the Prosecutor’s Office will be involved in the campaign.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has delivered a speech at the official event dedicated to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, organised by the UN Women, where she said that Covid-19 has posed 'numerous challenges to our countries and societies'.
Human rights defenders, politicians and civil society members are concerned by disturbingly increasing numbers of brutal domestic violence cases in Georgia in recent months.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has established that the Georgian authorities failed to investigate and prosecute gender and honour-based violence against Khanum Jeiranova who was found dead in September 2014 in Georgia's Sagarejo municipality following severe psychological and physical violence from her husband’s relatives.
International delegations to Georgia have called for ‘resolute action’ to prevent violence against women and girls on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The delegations said that Georgia has achieved ‘notable progress’ in recent years to combat gender-based violence. However, they maintained that Georgian women and girls still face violence both in their ‘private and public lives.’
The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia will aim to improve the overall quality of prosecutorial activities, develop a victim-oriented criminal policy, and increase the flexibility and efficiency of the institute of plea bargaining, among other objectives revealed by Prosecutor General Irakli Shotadze on Friday.
Three individuals have been charged with illegal deprivation of freedom and degrading treatment of Khanum Jeiranova, a woman found dead on September 18, 2014 in eastern Georgia's Sagarejo municipality following severe psychological and physical abuse from her husband’s relatives, the Prosecution Service of Georgia announced on Wednesday.