On October 22, 2022, the media reported that some individuals painted the car of civil activist Nata Peradze and wrote insulting words on it. The human rights defender names the recent criticism of the Tbilisi Mayor and the position voiced against Alt-Info as the probable motive for the incident.

The Public Defender condemns the aforementioned attack as an alleged retribution against a civil activist, the purpose of which was to create an intimidating environment for the implementation of human rights activities in the country.

The Public Defender emphasizes that the criticism of officials serves to improve their performance and increase their accountability. Public discussion of issues related to human rights is part of human rights activities, which makes a significant contribution to the democratic development of the country. Taking into account the invaluable role of human rights defenders, a number of guarantees have been created to protect them at the international level,[1] within the framework of which the State has an obligation, inter alia, to protect activists from attacks carried out by third parties, and in case such facts are detected, to provide an effective legal response in order to prevent an environment of impunity.

Taking into account the above, the Public Defender calls on the investigative bodies to conduct a timely and comprehensive investigation into the damage done to Nata Peradze's car, in order to identify culprits and hold them responsible.

It is noteworthy that the statements by high political officials aimed at discrediting human rights defenders has contributed to the creation of a hostile environment towards them, which the Public Defender has repeatedly assessed as an unacceptable practice.[2] Therefore, we once again call on officials to refrain from engaging in campaigns against human rights defenders and publicly condemn criminal actions against them.

[1] Among them, see 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, available at: < https://bit.ly/3f6zeqa >; Resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly on the situation of human rights defenders in Council of Europe member states, available at: < https://bit.ly/3socFQZ > and OSCE/ODIHR Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, available at: < https://bit.ly /3D1he8O >.
[2] 2021 parliamentary report of the Public Defender, p. 194; 2020 parliamentary report of the Public Defender, p. 257; 2019 parliamentary report of the Public Defender, p. 250; 2018 parliamentary report of the Public Defender, p. 167.