President Urges Prosecutor’s Office to Investigate Attack on Liberty Institute

(Tbilisi, Civil Georgia, July 12, 2002) – Today the press service of the Georgian President issued a statement of Eduard Shevardnadze urging the General Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the case of violent attack on human rights NGO Liberty Institute on July 10.

Up to ten men broke into the offices of the Liberty Institute and have severely beaten six NGO members, including Levan Ramishvili and David Zurabishvili, leading activists of the Liberty Institute.

The NGO members and the representatives of the civil society that signed a joint statement condemning the fact of violence against the Institute on July 11 claim the government is responsible for the attack, which uses the force against its opponents more often recently.  

Liberty Institute is known for its activism in defending human rights of the minorities, which frequently stirred angry reaction of the religious fundamentalists and political extremists. During ongoing week supporters of the maverick ultra-nationalist MP Guram Sharadze launched the protests against the Liberty Institute.

David Zurabishvili told the Civil Georgia on July 11 that the politicians like Sharadze are the “puppets in the hands of the government.”