European court held Georgia liable for disproportionate force in 2019 protests

Georgia has been found in violation of human rights by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over its handling of protests on June 20–21, 2019.

The demonstrations erupted in Tbilisi after Member of the Russian State Duma Sergey Gavrilov occupied the speaker’s chair in the Georgian parliament and delivered a speech in Russian during a session of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, sparking widespread public outrage, Caliber.Az reports, citing Georgian media.

The ECHR report details that over a 3–4 hour period, police fired approximately 800 rubber bullets at demonstrators, frequently aiming at the upper body. All applicants, with the exception of one, were either active participants in the protest or journalists documenting the events.

While the court acknowledged that the authorities may have had some justification for dispersing the protest—given that certain participants attempted to storm the parliamentary building—it ruled that the methods employed were disproportionate and constituted excessive use of force.

At the time, Georgia’s Interior Minister was Giorgi Gakharia, who subsequently served as prime minister from 2019 to 2021. Gakharia later joined the opposition and established the party Gakharia For Georgia. He currently faces legal charges related to police actions during the 2019 protests and relocated to Germany in June 2025.

As a result of the ruling, the Georgian government has been ordered to pay €646,000 in material and non-material compensation to the victims, along with up to €38,400 to cover legal expenses.

By Vafa Guliyeva