Deputy Minister of Justice Beka Dzamashvili discussed the human rights disputes in the Strasbourg Court at the investigative commission session, studying the activities of the 2003-2012 government and its political officials.

According to Dzamashvili, most violations during this period involved the most serious offences—the right to life and torture. He cited several cases, including Ochigava.

“Since Georgia became a member of the Council of Europe and subject to the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Court has found 282 cases of human rights violations in the country. Notably, 79% of these violations occurred between 2003 and 2012, the period under investigation by this commission. Nearly half of the violations concern the most serious offences—Articles 2 and 3—relating to the right to life and torture.

Other frequent violations include illegal imprisonment, denial of a fair trial, infringement on assembly and demonstration rights, and property rights violations. Around 100 cases specifically involve prisoner rights, covering torture, murder, inadequate conditions, and mistreatment in prisons.

In total, Georgia has paid approximately seven million GEL in compensation for these violations. Key cases highlighting the right to life and torture include the Girgvliani case, the Kortebi and Navtlughi operations, and the prison riot case, where the European Court confirmed violations of the right to life.

The Ochigava case, particularly significant regarding systemic torture, revealed that abuse in the penitentiary system was not isolated but widespread and continuous. This was a case where the European Court used the term that torture was systemic and systematic. The applicant, who entered prison healthy, has left it disabled due to sustained abuse. The prisoners were subjected to beatings, sleep deprivation, and severe mistreatment.

One case detailed an applicant being stripped naked, doused with cold water, beaten unconscious, and later tied to corpses in a morgue. These cases exemplify the human rights violations established by the European Court,” Dzamashvili stated.