ECHR partially satisfies Georgian citizens’ lawsuit over 2019 protest rallies

The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday partially satisfied a lawsuit by a group of Georgian citizens over the Government's handling of 2019 protest rallies in the capital city of Tbilisi and ordered it to pay compensation.

The case, brought by 26 nationals of the country, concerned the dispersal of a protest on June 20-21, 2019 outside the Parliament building in the city, the Court said.

The protest was sparked by the presence of a prominent member of the Russian Duma in the Georgian Parliament, where he was seen sitting in the chair of the legislative body’s Speaker and delivering an address in Russian as part of a planned session of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy.

The circumstance sparked public protests on the backdrop of Russia's ongoing occupation of two of Georgia’s regions since 2008, with the case brought to the ECHR by a group that included participants in the demonstration and journalists reporting on the protests.

They alleged that injuries received by them during the Government’s dispersal of the rally were a result of excessive use of force, and that a subsequent investigation into this matter had not been effective, relying on Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights on prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment.

The applicants also relied on Article 10 on freedom of expression, Article 11 on freedom of assembly and Article 13 on right to an effective remedy.

Some of the applicants also alleged the Government had failed in their duty to proactively inform the Court of developments relevant to their case, in particular new legislation, related to Article 38 on examination of the case.

The Court found violation of Article 3 on ineffective criminal investigation, but no violation of Article 38.

The Court ruled to award €15,000 to four of the applicants, €5,000 to 18 applicants and €1,800 to two applicants in non‑pecuniary damages.