Ruling party MP Gorduladze: commission report documents torture cases under UNM, dozens of ECHR rulings

Georgian Dream MP Archil Gorduladze on Wednesday said a parliamentary investigative commission’s report had documented cases of torture and inhuman treatment of prisoners, drawing on witness testimonies and dozens of judgments by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over the rule of the previous United National Movement government.

Speaking at a Constitutional Court hearing on the ban of five opposition groups, Gorduladze, who chairs parliament’s Legal Issues Committee, said the report included detailed accounts of abuses in the penitentiary system, including the confinement of prisoners in so-called “foxholes” - small spaces where detainees allegedly had insufficient room to move and limited access to fresh air.

Gorduladze criticized attempts to challenge the use of terms such as “torture” and “inhuman treatment” in the report, arguing that these descriptions reflected the experiences of victims and the documented findings cited by the commission.

He also referred to cases in which the alleged abuse had severe and lasting consequences for victims. Without identifying the individual, he cited an instance in which a person was reportedly left unable to have children.

The ruling party MP said the report also identified officials who held positions in the penitentiary system and the Interior Ministry during the period under investigation. According to Gorduladze, hundreds of individuals were convicted after the change of government in 2012.

He stressed that the commission had relied not only on individual testimonies but also on rulings by the European Court of Human Rights, saying that dozens of such judgments were reflected in the report.

“What was the attempt over these past few days? It was suggested that the commission’s report should not use the words that certain parties and individuals themselves had used when speaking about the tragedies suffered by people,” Gorduladze said.

He added that the report covered specific cases of alleged torture and inhuman treatment, as well as the officials held responsible in subsequent criminal proceedings.

Gorduladze made the remarks during Constitutional Court proceedings in a case initiated by 88 Georgian Dream MPs seeking to ban five opposition parties. The ruling party has argued that the parties' activities are unconstitutional, while the opposition rejects the allegations.