UN Special Rapporteur: “A government body cannot investigate itself”

“One of the fundamental principles of international law is that a government body cannot investigate itself,” UN Special Rapporteur on torture Alice Edwards said in an interview with Formula, commenting on the possible use of chemical agents.

As reported, Georgia’s State Security Service said it had completed its investigation into information published by the BBC and concluded that police did not use prohibited chemical substances against protesters. The opposition and civil society have expressed little trust in this investigation and are calling for the inclusion of an international component.

Edwards said a similar situation occurred in Serbia, where there were reports that police used sonic weapons against protesters. She advises the Georgian side to use mechanisms of the Council of Europe.

“One of the most important aspects of government authority is transparency, and that requires transparent, independent and impartial investigations. For example, I would encourage the use of Council of Europe mechanisms. We have seen them initiate investigations, for instance in Serbia, where protests took place over a time frame similar to those in Georgia and involved sonic weapons, which are also experimental weapons. There is a precedent for this, and I believe this is the path that should be taken. Together with other special rapporteurs, I wrote to the Georgian government and we have not yet received an official response regarding the investigations they conducted, the chemicals used, and how they were used. So until I receive something officially, this remains a black hole of missing information for me,” Edwards said.

She also noted that, as a rule, not all governments respond to her letters.

“Those who support human rights, who have strong legal systems and nothing to hide, will respond. The number of injuries compared to the scale of the protests was disproportionately high. It was disproportionate compared to similar protests elsewhere as well, and this is extremely concerning, including multiple head injuries. All of this requires investigation and the provision of appropriate medical care. Some people may need long term treatment. These are very dangerous trends. There are clear rules on how police should monitor and engage with protests. There are rules on legality and the necessity of proportionality. Clearly, issues of proportionality are seriously problematic in the context of the protests in Georgia and require much closer examination.

Although Georgia is outside the European Union, there are very strong anti torture regulations, and the weapons that were used, particularly means created by mixing water and chemicals, which I consider experimental weapons and therefore prohibited, truly require serious scrutiny. I will continue to put pressure on the authorities to ensure this is done,” Edwards said.

Earlier this year, reports emerged that unidentified sonic weapons were used against protesters in Serbia. The country’s leader denied the reports and invited representatives of the US FBI and Russia’s FSB to take part in the investigation.