The police made a mistake and abducted two young men from Rustaveli metro station instead of the intended individuals

19 January, 2025

Rights Georgia is defending the interests of the two young men abducted yesterday near Rustaveli metro station: 18-year-old Otar Kvaratskhelia and 23-year-old Rati Tkemaladze.

Rights Georgia lawyers, Mariam Magradze and Dimitri Nozadze, met with the detainees. According to the detainees, individuals dressed in civilian clothing forcibly placed them in vehicles without any explanation. It was later revealed that the abductors were officers from the Criminal Police who had planned an operation targeting another individual. Specifically, the Criminal Police were attempting to apprehend someone setting off fireworks near the Philharmonic. Based on their clothing, the officers mistakenly identified Otar Kvaratskhelia as their target. Since Rati Tkemaladze was accompanying him, he was also detained.

Despite the police acknowledging their mistake in detaining these individuals, administrative proceedings were still initiated against them under Article 173 (failure to comply with a lawful order of a police officer) and Article 174^1 (violation of the rules on assemblies and demonstrations) of the Administrative Offenses Code.

Rights Georgia considers the accusation of failure to comply with a lawful order to be entirely absurd. Otar Kvaratskhelia and Rati Tkemaladze were unable to identify the individuals detaining them as police officers because the officers did not introduce themselves, were not wearing police uniforms, did not carry any identifying marks, did not inform the detainees that they were police, and were not using Ministry of Internal Affairs vehicles.

It is noteworthy that lawyers spent the entire night searching for Otar Kvaratskhelia and Rati Tkemaladze. The police and pre-detention facilities either refused to provide their whereabouts or gave false information. The detainees’ exact location was only discovered at dawn. During this time, the police subjected the detainees to psychological pressure and violence.