Georgian Ombudsman asks Public Prosecutor's interference in the case on workers' strike at "Hercules"

The Ombudsman of Georgia has appealed to the General Public Prosecutor with a recommendation to initiate an investigation into the actions taken by the policemen against strikers at the metallurgic plant "Hercules" in the city of Kutaisi.

In his report, which was published today, the Ombudsman points out to the facts that during the protest action held at the plant from September 13 to 15 the strikers committed no violations, unlike the policemen.

"During the strike, the incidents occurred when the rights of the strikers had been violated. In particular, on September 13 the protesters put up a tent. Several minutes after the tent was put up, the law enforcement officers arrived at the venue of the protest. They demanded the protesters to remove the tent. These law enforcers took the tent and put it into a police car. Later, in 10-15 minutes, the law enforcement officers returned the tent to its owners. After the incident, the action continued, although, according to the strikers, they did not try to put up the tent anymore," the Ombudsman's statement reports.

The second case of violation was the detention of 35 people at night on September 16.

"According to Revaz Topuriya, the representative of the "Georgian Young Lawyers' Association" (GYLA), he spent several hours searching for the detainees in the temporary isolation facility of Kutaisi and several police stations; however, he could see these people only after their release. The protesting workers spent several hours in the Kutaisi Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), where they were forced to write statements that they would not continue protesting and return to work. Otherwise, they were to incur responsibility in accordance with the law," the Ombudsman's statement emphasizes.

According to the report, the investigation held by the Ombudsman was surrounded by the atmosphere of distrust and fear. In particular, describing the incidents occurred at night on September 15 to 16, the Ombudsman notes in his recommendation that "only three arrested protesters agreed to submit their explanatory notes to the Ombudsman of Georgia under the condition that their identities would remain confidential, while the other protesters only orally confirmed the above information,"

The Ombudsman's appeal to the Prosecutor also stated that "representatives of the Ombudsman also tried to meet with the top management of the plant "Hercules" and get their explanatory notes about the above incident. However, the administration of the plant refused to meet with them and give explanations."