Report on Human Rights Practices Country of Georgia

United States Department of State

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The ruling Georgian Dream GD party won an overwhelming victory in the October 8 parliamentary elections, giving it full control over the formation of a new government. However, they also noted procedural violations during the vote count in almost one-third of all polling stations and violent altercations in four. Local monitoring groups highlighted some cases of vote-buying, alleged political intimidation, and campaigning by unauthorized persons, but found these had no effect on the overall outcome. Three violent incidents during the week before the vote marred an otherwise peaceful pre-election process.

On October 4, an explosion hit the car of a prominent member of parliament from the opposition United National Movement UNM party, injuring five.

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An October 2 shooting during an outdoor campaign meeting for an independent candidate wounded two people. On October 1, three GD activists were assaulted while campaigning. Investigations into all three incidents were pending at time of writing. The court found this system allows mass collection of personal information in real time without effective oversight.

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The online publication of several illegally recorded personal phone conversations of opposition party members and their supporters in the run-up to the election seemed aimed at influencing the vote. Among the recordings were private conversations between former President Mikheil Saakashvili and fellow UNM party members, and a call between a pro-opposition television director and an opposition party leader.

In March, unknown persons threatened to release sex tapes implicating two cabinet members, an opposition figure, and a television journalist if they did not quit their jobs by March The threats were made through YouTube videos of secretly recorded videos purportedly showing their private lives, with blurred out faces, which were quickly removed.

Authorities launched an investigation. Georgia does not have an independent effective mechanism for investigating crimes committed by law enforcement officials. GYLA concluded that in most cases the investigations were ineffective. In several cases, officials retaliated against the victims who had filed complaints by pressing administrative and criminal proceedings against them.

GYLA received at least 62 allegations of torture and ill-treatment in 12 months since November ; 45 of them concerned abuse by police, and 17 by prison staff. According to GYLA, authorities failed to effectively investigate those allegations.

In August, Demur Sturua, 22, committed suicide, leaving behind a note stating that a local policeman was coercing him to inform on local cannabis growers. Several criminal cases against former officials raised questions about selective justice and politically motivated prosecution.

Human Rights Report for 2017

The court did not establish any mercenary motives behind the misspending charges. The men were arrested in , which led to sacking of then-Defense Minister Irakli Alasania. Belarus The report says Belarus remains an authoritarian state where "power is concentrated in the presidency. Other human rights issues include the reported use of torture and unlawful detentions.

The document says the judiciary suffers from inefficiency and political interference, and that trial outcomes are often predetermined. Bosnia-Herzegovina The report says that in Bosnia-Herzegovina, "political leaders continued to intensify and manipulate deep-seated ethnic divisions that fostered widespread discrimination in most aspects of daily life.

Harassment and intimidation of journalists and civil society were also present, the same as other human rights problems such as deaths from landmines; harsh conditions in prisons and detention centers; discrimination and violence against women and sexual and religious minorities; discrimination against persons with disabilities; trafficking in persons; and limits on employment rights. It also points to reports of irregularities in last year's general election campaign, including the misuse of government institutional resources.

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The document says that prior to the election, the previous government frequently terminated or delayed probes into alleged rights abuses committed by officials. After the October vote, however, more than 25 high-level former government officials were indicted on torture, abuse of power, and corruption-related charges. Iran The report says Iran continued its crackdown on civil society and repression of civil liberties. The report says national elections for the lower house of parliament fell short of international standards and stresses that Nazarbaev received 95 percent of the vote in the presidential election.

It also mentions arbitrary arrests and detentions by authorities. The document says there were problems with arbitrary killings by law enforcement officials, a lack of judicial impartiality, the harassment of nongovernmental organizations, activists, and journalists, and pressure on independent media. Other rights problems included mistreatment of detainees, delayed access to legal counsel by detainees and defendants, child prostitution, and mistreatment of patients in psychiatric hospitals.

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Moldova The report's authors list government corruption as the most serious human rights problem in Moldova. The report says that allegations of police torture and mistreatment of detainees were a second major area of concern.

The document says Moldova is a parliamentary democracy where powers are separated clearly, but notes that a prolonged political crisis undermined insitutional stability while corruption eroded the credbility of the police and judiciary. It says impunity among corrupt officials was "a major problem. It lists torture, arbitrary arrests, and unlawful detentions as regular practices in Transdniester. Pakistan The report says extrajudicial and targeted killings, forced disappearances, and torture affected thousands of citizens in nearly all parts of Pakistan.

Other human rights problems included poor prison conditions, arbitrary detention, and a lack of judicial independence in the lower courts. It says harassment of journalists, some censorship, and self-censorship continued, along with religious freedom violations and discrimination against religious minorities -- including some violations sanctioned by law. The document says rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment, and discrimination against women remained serious problems.

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It says abuses by government officials often went unpunished, fostering a culture of impunity, and criticizes the government, saying it made few attempts to combat widespread corruption. Russia The State Department criticizes Russia for introducing measures last year that limit political pluralism and curtail the activities of nongovernmental organizations. The report also ranks harassment of journalists as being a significant area of concern, as well as corruption in health care, education, and government. It also points to an inefficient judicial system as being the cause for lengthy and delayed trials, and long periods of pretrial detention.

Other problems reported during the year included physical mistreatment of detainees by police, harassment of human rights advocates, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender LGBT groups and individuals, as well as groups and individuals critical of the government.

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