The failure to hold law enforcement officers accountable for the violence committed during last spring's protests, and the failure to take effective preventive measures, created an even larger precondition for the use of disproportionate force and ill-treatment during the protests held from November 28, 2024, to March 1, 2025 - no criminal prosecution was initiated against any law enforcement officer; in contrast, the number of detainees reached several hundred, - Public Defender Levan Ioseliani stated while presenting the 2024 report at the plenary session.

According to Ioseliani, during the reporting period, an increasing trend of ill-treatment was observed.

“The year 2024 was particularly difficult and memorable in the context of human rights violations during protests. The series of human rights violations began mainly during the protests of April-May 2024. The failure to hold law enforcement officers accountable for the acts of violence committed during the spring protests, as well as the failure to implement effective preventive measures, for example, not equipping special forces with identification marks, became a prerequisite for the even more widespread use of disproportionate force and ill-treatment during protests from November 28, 2024 to March 1, 2025. Accordingly, the number of people who indicated ill-treatment during the winter protests increased. From November 28, 2024 to March 1, 2025, I personally and my representatives visited 422 individuals, of whom 267, approximately 60%, indicated ill-treatment. Based on the information obtained by the representatives of the Public Defender as a result of interviews with those detained during the dispersal of protest rallies, it can be said that an increasing trend of ill-treatment has been observed.

In addition to the beatings and violence against citizens by law enforcement officers, during the same period there was persecution and violence by unknown persons against civil activists, journalists, and public figures, organized telephone threats, and various forms of expressed violent intolerance. Unfortunately, in the context of the rallies held during the year, no criminal prosecution was initiated against any law enforcement officer. In contrast, the number of individuals detained during the protest rallies reached several hundred. It is noteworthy that the Special Investigation Service granted us exceptional access to the investigation materials of the criminal cases related to the spring protests, approximately 50 volumes, for which I would like to express my gratitude. After reading the case materials, it was revealed that the investigation was not being conducted in accordance with the standards of effective investigation. Therefore, I addressed the Special Investigation Service and the Prosecutor General's Office with a proposal to conduct specific investigative procedural actions and change the classification," - Ioseliani noted.

According to him, during the reporting period it was revealed that "the issue of the authority to verify the legality of administrative detention was problematic.

“The violations of rights identified within the framework of the protests cover many aspects, given their specificity and especially their scale. In the context of the protests, there were violations of proper treatment, freedom, fair trial, and protection of privacy, which are discussed in detail in the parliamentary report.

In the context of administrative detention, it is first of all worth noting that the gaps in the legislation, which the Public Defender has been pointing out for years, are still problematic. In particular, the issue of the authority to review the legality of administrative detention is problematic when a person who has violated an administrative law challenges it before the judge hearing the case. In the case of administrative detention, the judge does not review the legality of the detention and considers it within the framework of separate legal proceedings. Unfortunately, the proposals and recommendations issued over the years to eliminate this problem have not yet been implemented.

According to him, the year 2024 “was distinguished by the abundance of political gatherings of various scales and forms.”

“Along with the variability of their types, locations, frequency, duration, and number of participants, the response methods used by the police forces and, accordingly, the intensity of interference with rights were also different. In this process, one of the main challenges was the decision by law enforcement officers to disperse the entire gathering, instead of responding individually to the violent actions of a small number of demonstrators. Despite the existence of a formal basis for the use of police measures in such cases, the right was disproportionately restricted,” said Ioseliani.