21:25, 12 November 2007

Amnesty International: Georgian authorities must urgently investigate the actions by the police in dispersing demonstrators

The international human rights organization Amnesty International has called upon the Georgian authorities to promptly conduct a careful, impartial and independent investigation of reports on applying excessive force by special police units during the dispersal of anti-government demonstrations on November 7 in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

Amnesty International has collected oral evidence from eye-witnesses to the effect that police were beating demonstrators with their hands and feet. According to the reports, the Georgian ombudsman is among the victims. It is claimed that medical assistance has been required for more than five hundred people, including 24 police officers.

Amnesty International has repeatedly called upon the Georgian authorities to take measures for solving old problems related to the use of torture and other cruel treatment by law enforcement officers.