Georgia’s Future Academy responds to the information shared by young civic activist and graduate of our Order of the Phoenix project, Sergei Kancheli, concerning the violence and threats against him, and stands in solidarity with him. We demand that the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia assign the appropriate legal classification to the police officers' actions and investigate the case thoroughly and effectively.

According to Sergei Kancheli, on 27 September, while he was running, six police officers stopped him and took him to a cemetery, where they held him against his will for approximately 50 minutes. He states that they physically assaulted him, scratched his face with a knife and stripped him naked. At the same time, they threatened him with a firearm, including by placing it against his head, chest and other parts of his body. They also tried to force him to perform an act of a sexual nature. According to his account, the violence was accompanied by degrading and insulting remarks relating to his pro-European stance. As a result of this violence, Sergei was forced to leave the country temporarily for his own safety.

The acts described by Sergei Kancheli bear the hallmarks not only of violence and threats, but also of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment. In light of this, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia should assign these acts the appropriate legal classification and not limit the investigation solely to the use of violence in exceeding official authority. At the same time, the investigation must fully establish what happened on 27 September, who participated in these acts, whether senior officials were also involved, and whether the motive for the violence was connected to Sergei Kancheli’s civic activism.

The violence described by Sergei Kancheli can be regarded as yet another manifestation of Ivanishvili’s authoritarian regime, whose aim is to intimidate the country’s most active citizens - young people like Sergei -  and force them to withdraw from the struggle for Georgia’s European future.

Georgia’s Future Academy is ready to provide legal assistance to citizens engaged in civic activism and to pursue every legal avenue to protect the fundamental rights of patriots fighting for Georgia’s European future.

We stand in solidarity with Sergei and every citizen involved in protests against the regime who has suffered as a result of unlawful acts!