Prosecutors Probe Alleged ‘Exceeding Official Powers’ After Video Shows Police Beating Men in Gori
The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia said on May 27 that it has launched an investigation into alleged “exceeding official powers with violence” after the media published footage showing police officers beating two men in Gori, a town in central Georgia. The incident sparked widespread backlash, and one of the men abused by police was reportedly briefly detained later in the evening before being transferred for a medical examination.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the investigation has been launched under Article 333, Part 3, subparagraph (b) of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which concerns exceeding official powers with violence or the use of a weapon and is punishable by five to eight years of imprisonment, with deprivation of the right to hold office or carry out activities for up to three years. The Prosecutor’s Office said the “urgent” investigative actions were underway.
The statement came shortly after local media Kartlis Ambebi published a video footage from Gori’s Kombinati settlement, showing a scene on the grassland where around ten law enforcement officers approach several people, forcibly drag one man away for detention, and kick him several times, while beating another man on the ground with repeated kicks. The disturbing footage also captures the men screaming as they are being beaten by police.
While one police officer told reporters at the scene that the detainee was carrying a bladed weapon, one of the individuals allegedly beaten by police denied this in comments to journalists.
Reactions
The incident has drawn widespread public backlash, including from representatives of the opposition, civil society, and high-ranking clerics.
The Public Defender’s Office said it “condemns all forms of unlawful actions by police, particularly cases of ill-treatment,” calling on the Prosecutor’s Office to ensure an “objective and effective investigation” and hold all responsible persons accountable.
The Opposition Alliance uniting nine political parties said the reported police violence is “yet another brutal crime of the violent system of Georgian Dream,” adding, “[Bidzina] Ivanishvili’s Russian criminal regime poses a threat not only to those who take part in daily protests, but to every citizen of Georgia, regardless of political affiliation.”
Tamar Onioni, the Chair of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), a prominent human rights watchdog, described the footage as “deeply disturbing,” writing in a Facebook post, “This is what happens when justice for cases of torture and beatings by police is only superficial. Impunity always has a chain reaction, and that is precisely why incidents of this kind involving members of law enforcement can no longer be considered isolated.”
Londa Toloraia, a lawyer who worked for years as director of the Interior Ministry’s human rights department, said in her Facebook post, “In 99% of cases in which criminal proceedings have been initiated against police officers […], it has been precisely these kinds of cases – someone recorded it (photo or video), or someone died. Does someone have to die for such an officer to be punished in this country? Do we all have to witness violence for those responsible to be held accountable? Above all, it should be in the interest of the Interior Ministry to purge such officers from its ranks and ensure their exemplary punishment.”
Archbishop Zenon (Iarajauli) of the Dmanisi and Agarak-Tashiri diocese, a member of the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church, also reacted to the incident, writing in a Facebook post, “Such actions by police are not only acts of physical violence against society. They constitute severe psychological and social trauma that breaks not only the body, but also the individual’s inner world, trust, and the very fabric of social consciousness.”
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze also commented on the footage, describing it as “absolutely unacceptable” and adding that state agencies “should have and will have an appropriate response.”
Beaten Man Briefly Detained
Later the same day, around 20:00, one of the men beaten by police, Papuna Lotsulashvili, was reportedly detained. His lawyer, Lasha Tkeshelashvili, told the media that Lotsulashvili was detained under Article 353 of the Criminal Code concerning “attack on a police officer,” which he described as “absurd,” saying, “The footage clearly shows that he was subjected to violence and torture. Instead of detaining him, it is the police officers involved who should have been detained.”
The man was reportedly released in about an hour. The lawyer said he was transferred for a medical examination.
Last updated on May 26 at 22:45
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