Dear all,
On December 15 2009 the office of the Inclusive Foundation, a well
known Georgian LGBT organisation, was raided by the police. They did
not wear police uniforms, did not provide a search warrant, did not
inform about their identity or agency they represented and did not
explain the purpose of their intrusion.
Members of the LGBT community
were present in the office during the raid for a regular meeting of
the “Women’s Club”. The men confiscated cell phones of all those
present in the office, did not allow them to contact their families,
and made degrading and humiliating remarks, such as ‘perverts’, ‘sick
persons’, Satanists. They threatened to take photos of the women and
disseminate them to reveal their sexual orientation. They also
threatened ‘to kill’ and ‘tear to pieces’ one of the leaders of the
organisation, Eka Aghdgomelashvili, if she did not stop demanding the
search warrant and identification documents of the police.
Paata Sabelashvili, the leader of the organization, was arrested as a
result of the raid. Soon after arrest he confessed to the possession
of 8 grams of marijuana. However, because he made the confession
before seeing his lawyer, without the presence of anyone except law
enforcement officials, the validity and voluntary character of the
confession is highly suspicious.
Staff members of the organization are under continuous surveillance up
till now. Their homes, movement in the city and office are under
constant surveillance by cars full of men without uniform. One such
car is permanently stationed outside the entrance to the house of one
of the staff members.
The raid on the Inclusive Foundation represents a logical continuation
of the policy of repression of non-governmental organizations
conducted by the Georgian government. It aims at marginalizing,
intimidating and discrediting human rights defenders in Georgia.
Please, find below the full details of the case in our appeal to the
Georgian President, the Public Defender of Georgia, the Diplomatic
Missions accredited in Georgia as well as international organisations.
Inclusive – Foundation
