“Citizens of Georgia are under the threat of systematic torture on every street, in every city, and in every town, and the reason for all this is that the Ministry of Internal Affairs is headed by Sulkhan Tamazashvili and Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, who have been sanctioned for systematic torture,” said Irakli Pavlenishvili during a briefing held outside the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

According to him, in order to prevent incidents like the one in Gori from happening again, as well as what happened to journalists Guram Rogava and Maka Chikhladze and politician Levan Khabeishvili, these individuals must leave the system.

The member of United National Movement also demanded the termination of legal proceedings against Papuna Lotsulashvili, who was beaten in Gori, and called for an investigation against law enforcement officers under torture charges.

“If it were not for the civic courage of representatives of the free media, there would be no video evidence showing how two Georgian citizens were tortured, and afterward these tortured individuals were effectively condemned to imprisonment. This is yet another episode of systematic torture, demonstrating that citizens of Georgia are under the threat of systematic torture on every street, in every city, and in every town.

The primary reason for all this is that the Ministry of Internal Affairs is headed by Sulkhan Tamazashvili and Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, who have been sanctioned for systematic torture. They no longer have a way back; they are capable of anything. They have turned systematic torture into a method of operation and functioning for a large portion of what was once the honorable Georgian Interior Ministry.

This is a major threat to our country and to the health and lives of every citizen of Georgia. In order for the Gori incident not to be repeated, in order to prevent what happened to Guram Rogava, Maka Chikhladze, and Levan Khabeishvili from happening again, these people must immediately leave the system. These people are the architects and executors of systematic torture.

In addition, we demand that the individual who was tortured, in the literal sense of the word, be freed from criminal liability and that the investigation against him be terminated. It is cynical that there is video evidence of a person being tortured while that same person is charged with a crime.

Secondly, and very importantly, what we saw was torture, not merely abuse of authority. No legal expertise is required to understand this. Therefore, a case must immediately be launched under torture charges,” Irakli Pavlenishvili stated.