Labour safety standards were not effectively enforced causing high levels of injuries and fatalities at work and prompting strengthening of labour rights legislation. Electoral rules were changed to ensure greater representation of women in Parliament. Authorities continued to use disproportionate...

Mustafa Çabuk, a Turkish secondary school teacher living in Georgia, is at imminent risk of extradition to Turkey, where he is at risk of torture and other grave human rights violations. Turkey has accused Mustafa Çabuk of “supporting terrorism”, referring to his alleged links with the Gülen...

The bill which would amend the Constitution introducing a definition of marriage as a union exclusively between a man and a woman, received the endorsement of the Parliament’s Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee on 5 May. Now the bill has to go through other committee hearings after which...

The ruling coalition in Georgia introduced a bill on 14 March to amend the Constitution and define marriage explicitly as a union between a man and a woman. The amendment discriminates against LGBTI people in the enjoyment of their family life and all social rights associated with marriage.

Amnesty International is concerned by a series of forced evictions of internally displaced people carried out by local authorities in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. According to sources in Georgia, around 5,000 people have been forcibly evicted from their homes since mid-June. Some of them have not...

Timur Tskhovrebov, an independent journalist and civil society activist, was attacked and badly beaten in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, a breakaway territory from Georgia. The attackers also issued threats against his colleague Maria Pliyeva. Both activists are currently outside South...

Humanitarian organizations report that they are still prevented from delivering aid to the disputed region of South Ossetia, leading to fears that civilians in the region are at risk of illness and starvation. It has also been reported that access to displaced people in parts of Georgia, including...

The lives of civilians in the disputed region of South Ossetia and in Georgia are at risk. Heavy civilian casualties have been reported as a result of fighting between Georgian and Russian forces which has escalated over the past few days. Although reports of civilian dead and wounded vary, with...

Human rights activist Azer Ramizoglu Samedov, an Azerbaijani citizen, was arrested in Georgia on 31 March at the request of the Azerbaijani authorities, who have asked for him to be extradited. He has been free on bail since 14 April, but could be detained and forcibly returned at any time. In...

Shaliko Maisuradze (m) (previously incorrectly listed as Irina Maisuradze), Gulshirin Shykhyeva (f) and Tylla Garadzhayeva (f) sentenced to death in September 1998 are believed to still be on death row. Unofficial sources report that appeals may have saved them from the death penalty. Zaza...

On 17 June 1996 political prisoner Badri Zarandia was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court. He has no right of appeal, and his only recourse against execution is to petition President Shevardnadze for clemency. Unofficial sources also claim that Badri Zarandia, who had a leg amputated in...

AI has learned that Elgudzha Khutayevich Meskhia was forcibly repatriated to Georgia on 19 March 1996.

Elgudzha Khutayevich Meskhia, an opponent of the Government of Georgia seeking political asylum in Russia, is facing imminent and forcible repatriation to Georgia after being arrested in Russia at the request of the Georgian authorities.