Toggle navigation menu.
Helsinki Default Banner

Shevardnadze Urged to Act on Violence Against Congregations

Eyewitness: One Beaten Unconscious as Armed, Masked Men
Invade Home, Assault Members of Religious Meeting

Washington – Continued violence against religious minorities in the Republic of Georgia has prompted United States Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ) to urge Georgia’s President Eduard Shevardnadze to uphold human rights and respect the rule of law.

Religious freedom and the rule of law in Georgia have been jeopardized by a constant barrage of violent attacks on church congregations and the government’s unwillingness to enforce the law by holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes. Violence against minority religious groups, especially Jehovah’s Witnesses, has escalated over the past three years.

The Helsinki Commission held a hearing September 24 to examine democracy, human rights and security developments in the former Soviet Republic. Georgian Ambassador Levan Mikeladze testified at the hearing that legal and practical actions were being taken to ensure an end to future violence.

“Unfortunately, since the…hearing, several more violent attacks occurred,” Smith said. “Alarmingly, on September 26, in the village of Napareuli, masked men with firearms burst into a private home where religious meetings were being held, reportedly beating those in attendance and ransacking the house. Most striking, eyewitnesses claim the attack was led by the village administrator, Mr. Nodar Paradashvili, who beat one of the victims into unconsciousness.”

Defrocked Orthodox priest Vasili Mkalavishvili has led many attacks against non-Orthodox groups, disrupting worship services and other religious activities among members of minority faiths. Mkalavishvili will go on trial October 25 in the Didube-Chugureti District Court. His criminal trial began January 25th, but the charges against him are minor. Authorities postponed the case five times, due to Mkalavishvili’s mob entering the courtroom and assailing victims, lawyers and international observers.

Only ten police were permitted to guard victims and their lawyers during Mkalavishvili’s previous trial. Ministry of Interior officials, however, were afforded the protection of more than 200 officers and a SWAT team when Mkalavishvili was previously tried on different charges.

Officials from Georgia’s National Security Council and Ministry of Interior assured Helsinki Commission staff in meetings last week that police would provide enough personnel in the Didube-Chugureti District Court to conduct a proper trial. “Considering the numerous trial delays in this case due to Mkalavishvili’s mob crashing into the courtroom, I welcome this commitment,” Smith said.

Increasingly concerned about the Georgian Government’s unwillingness to squelch the violence and jail the perpetrators, Smith said Mkalavishvili’s trial will be a prime opportunity for Georgia to uphold human rights and the rule of law. He urged Shevardnadze to ensure proper decorum during the trial by assigning a respectable number of law enforcement agents to the court proceedings. Providing a significant police presence at the trial “would convey clearly that the violence will not be tolerated and your government’s commitment to have the judicial process proceed.”

“Mr. President, as a Representative in the United States Congress for over 20 years, I deeply value the friendship of the Georgian Government and people,” Smith continued. “I respectfully urge that everything possible be done to ensure proper conduct of the upcoming trial and that future prosecutions of violent criminals be conducted under rule of law norms.”

Spearheaded by Helsinki Commission leaders, 15 Members of Congress wrote to Shevardnadze in May urging him to ensure an end to the increasing violence against minority religious groups. The Members pressed Shevardnadze to “take concrete steps to provide for the security of all Georgians without distinction as to religion.”

For more than two years, violent mobs have attacked members of various non-Orthodox religious communities while police allegedly participate in the attacks or simply refuse to intervene. Organized mobs have brutally attacked minority religious groups with increasing frequency since 1999. The mobs often targeted Jehovah’s Witnesses. Mkalavishvili’s followers have allegedly targeted other religious groups, including a Pentecostal church, an Evangelical Church, and a warehouse owned by the Baptist Union.

Victims have filed more than 700 criminal complaints, but authorities have not responded, leaving the perpetrators free to repeat their attacks. Individuals have reportedly been dragged by their hair into a group, then pummeled with punches, kicks and clubs. Police have stopped buses of Jehovah’s Witnesses, allowing Mkalavishvili’s mobsters to attack passengers participating in church activities. A mob attacked a Pentecostal Church during choir practice, injuring 12 people during the raid. Local television stations often receive advanced notice of the attacks, then broadcast the episodes on the evening news.

While civil society has grown substantially, the media and non-governmental organizations remain at risk. The savage attack on the human rights organization, Liberty Institute, like the campaign of violence against Jehovah’s Witnesses and other minority faiths, as well as efforts to silence Rustavi-2 Television, testify to the lingering influence of forces bent on preventing Georgia from consolidating democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

Media contact

Category
Country
Issue
Date
Filter Topics Open Close
Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Ranking Member Cohen Celebrates ...

Aug 01, 2024

WASHINGTON—Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s 56-nation Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative on Political Prisoners, today welcomed news that three journalists and Paul Whelan, wrongly detained and imprisoned by Russian authorities on trumped-up charges, have been released in a prisoner exchange. Congressman Cohen made the following statement: “I have been […]

screen-reader-text
Articles

Helsinki Commission Advances Human Rights, Demands f...

Oct 19, 2023

By Shannon Simrell, Senior Policy Advisor Between October 2-13, 11 Helsinki Commission staff joined approximately 1,400 representatives of OSCE participating States (pS) and civil society representatives in Warsaw, Poland in an annual review of the human rights records of OSCE States. U.S. leadership highlighted demands for accountability from Russia and Belarus for their human rights […]

screen-reader-text
Hearings

Vladimir Kara-Murza: Putin’s Personal Prisoner

Sep 20, 2023

Stream here: HEARING: Vladimir Kara-Murza: Putin’s Personal Prisoner – YouTube Vladimir Kara-Murza, a father, husband, and a freedom fighter, has been in detention for over five hundred days and is currently being transferred to a prison in Siberia. As he is being moved, his family has lost all contact with him and are faced with worry […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Leadership Celebrate Pardon of N...

Jun 23, 2023

Washington—Today, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, Representative Joe Wilson (SC-02) and Ranking Member Steve Cohen (TN-09), applauded Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili’s decision to issue a presidential pardon for journalist Nikoloz “Nika” Gvaramia. Mr. Gvaramia, an outspoken media figure and […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

HELSINKI COMMISSION SENDS APPEAL TO GEORGIAN PRESIDE...

Apr 28, 2023

WASHINGTON— The leadership of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, Chairman Representative Joe Wilson (SC-02), Co-Chairman Senator Ben Cardin (MD), and Ranking Members Representative Steve Cohen (TN-09) and Senator Roger Wicker (MS) sent a letter to Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili urging her to intervene to break […]

screen-reader-text
Hearings

CHURCH, STATE, AND RUSSIA’S WAR ON UKRAINE

Apr 27, 2023

The Putin regime has long used the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) to consolidate its power at home and abroad. Under the leadership of Patriarch Kirill, the ROC has explicitly endorsed Russia’s war on Ukraine, even blessing weapons for the invasion. Churches under the mantle of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) had long been viewed […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Chair and Co-Chair: Statement on...

Feb 20, 2023

WASHINGTON—Following reports of the sharp deterioration of Azerbaijani dissident Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, Helsinki Commission Chairman Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-2) and Co-Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (MD) issued the following joint statement: “We are absolutely appalled at the continued unwarranted detention and mistreatment of Azerbaijani civil activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, who has been imprisoned on trumped up charges and […]

screen-reader-text
Briefings

Saving Ukraine’s Children

Dec 14, 2022

Ukraine’s children are suffering serious injury and trauma due to Russia’s genocidal war on Ukraine. Almost two-thirds of the country’s children have been displaced. Thousands have been injured and, although UNICEF has said more than 1,000 children have been killed, that number is likely much higher as there is no reliable way to verify how […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Congressmen Cohen and Wilson Introduce Resolution Re...

Oct 28, 2022

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Co-Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, and the Commission’s Ranking Member, Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02), today introduced a resolution recognizing October 30 as International Day of Political Prisoners. Congressman Cohen was recently named the Special Representative on Political Prisoners […]

screen-reader-text
Statements

Congressmen Cohen and Wilson Introduce Resolution Re...

Oct 28, 2022

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Co-Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, and the Commission’s Ranking Member, Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02), today introduced a resolution recognizing October 30 as International Day of Political Prisoners. Congressman Cohen was recently named the Special Representative on Political Prisoners […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Co-Chairman Cohen Discusses Role as Special Represen...

Sep 07, 2022

WASHINGTON—Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Rep Steve Cohen (TN-09) today spoke at a virtual hearing of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA)about his new role as the assembly’s special representative for political prisoners. Co-Chairman Cohen thanked OSCE PA President Margareta Cederfelt of Sweden for naming him to the special representative role […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Co-Chairman Cohen Deplores Arrest of Former Yekateri...

Aug 29, 2022

WASHINGTON—Following the arrest of the Kremlin critic and former Yekaterinburg mayor Yevgeniy Roizman, Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman and OSCE PA Special Representative on Political Prisoners Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09) issued the following statement: “The arrest and prosecution of Yevgeniy Roizman is another milestone in the Kremlin’s descent into a full-blown dictatorship. “Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine […]

screen-reader-text