Georgian rights watchdog calls for torture charges in Gori police abuse case

The head of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, Tamar Oniani, has called on prosecutors to reclassify the investigation into the alleged abuse of Papuna Lotsulashvili, arguing that the case should be treated as torture rather than abuse of official authority.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Oniani said the current legal qualification failed to reflect the gravity of the alleged violence.

“The Prosecutor’s Office must change the qualification of the investigation in Papuna Lotsulashvili’s case. There is a clear answer on this issue,” she said.

According to Oniani, failing to classify such treatment as torture or inhuman and degrading treatment risks normalising police violence in the eyes of the public.

“When torture is not called torture, and when degrading or inhuman treatment is not assessed as such, society is left with the false impression that beatings and violence are somehow a normal part of police operations,” she said.

She added that under the current qualification, excessive use of force risks being treated merely as an abuse of power rather than as a serious human rights violation.

The case relates to an incident in the Kombinati settlement in the city of Gori, where Papuna Lotsulashvili was allegedly physically assaulted by law enforcement officers.

Georgia’s Prosecutor’s Office has detained six people in connection with the case.