The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) awarded partial satisfaction to Georgian protesters on Tuesday, citing procedural flaws in the government’s handling of a 2019 protest. The case concerned the excessive use of force by Georgian police during the dispersal of a protest in front of the Georgian Parliament in Tbilisi on June 20 and 21, 2019. 

In the case, the ECHR considered the violation of five articles of the European Convention on Human Rights which were brought forward by 26 applicants who had participated in the demonstration or were journalists reporting on it. In particular, the applicants raised their complaints in reliance of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment), Article 10 (Freedom of Expression), Article 11 (Freedom of Assembly and Association), article 13 (right to an effective remedy) and Article 38 (Examinations of the Case) of the Convention. 

In its judgment, the court only found a partial violation of Article 3. In their application, the protestors had complained about the unjustified use of rubber bullets during the crackdown on the protest and further argued that no effective criminal investigation had been carried out. The court agreed with the applicants only about the procedural aspects of Article 3 stating that “the ongoing criminal investigation has fallen short of the requirement of effectiveness within the meaning of the procedural aspect of Article 3.” More specifically, the court cited numerous reasons, among them being the failure to adequately assess the anticipated escalation risk and the absence of appropriate charges despite years of investigation.  

With regard to articles 10 and 11, the court found no violation, noting that the investigation by the Georgian authorities is still ongoing and in the court’s view feasible and therefore refrained from further examining the complaints. During the proceedings, it was also alleged that the Georgian government had failed to proactively inform the court of developments relevant to the case under Article 38, however, here too no violation was found. 

The 2019 protest was sparked after a member of the Duma, the lower house of the federal assembly of Russia, had sat in the chair reserved for the speaker of the Georgian Parliament and delivered a speech during a session of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy. Diplomatic relations between Russia and Georgia have been complex and marked by conflict. In 2008, a war escalated between the two countries in a territorial dispute over the Georgian region of South Ossetia which has since been occupied by Russia.

As a result of the proceedings, Georgia was ordered to pay damages of up to €15.000 to four applicants, €5.000 ($5,37) to 18 applicants, and €1,800 ($1 ,934) to two applicants. 

The Georgia insurance commissioner is accepting comments on proposed rule changes that would cut the pre-licensing course load by almost two-thirds for personal lines agents.

“The primary purpose of the proposed changes to all Regulation Chapters … is to modernize and modify the regulations, increase departmental efficiency in delivering services, and bring them into conformity with industry best practices to the benefit of Georgia Consumers,” the commissioner’s office said in a bulletin.

The proposed changes, affecting parts of state Statute 120-2-3, would lower the course load from 20 hours to 8 hours.

The proposals are on file at the Administrative Procedure Division of the Office of Commissioner of Insurance, 708 West Tower, Floyd Building, Two Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, Atlanta.

A hearing will be held May 15 at 1 p.m. in the hearing room at the commissioner’s office on the ninth floor of the West Tower.

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Embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis indicated Monday that she will refuse to testify before the Georgia state Senate Special Committee investigating whether she misused taxpayer money during her relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade. 

“First of all, I don’t think they even have the authority to subpoena me, but they need to learn the law,” Willis said of the Republican-led probe during a press conference. 

“I will not appear to anything that is unlawful, and I have not broken the law in any way,” the district attorney continued. 

 “I’m sorry folks get pissed off that everybody gets treated evenly,” she added. 

The special investigation panel held its third public hearing last week, which delved into the amount of money Willis’ office has spent prosecuting the historic racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants and the lack of oversight other government entities have over the district attorney’s office.  

The committee has already issued a subpoena for the testimony of Trump co-defendant Michael Roman’s defense attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, who first brought the allegations of an “improper” and “clandestine” relationship between Willis and Wade to light in January. 

Republican state Sen. Bill Cowsert, the chairman of the special committee, has said that he will compel Willis to provide testimony if she doesn’t come in voluntarily. 

“I sure hope it doesn’t get to that,” Cowsert told FOX 5, threatening to hold Willis in contempt if she flouts a future subpoena. 

“If subpoenaed by the Committee, she will be required to appear, or she will be in violation of Georgia law,” Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones told the outlet. 

“This is what treating everybody evenly looks like, even if DA Willis doesn’t like being held accountable,” he added. 

Wade resigned from the Trump case in March after Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee issued an ultimatum, forcing either him or Willis to step aside in order for the case to move forward. 

Both Willis and Wade have admitted to a love affair but both insisted under oath the relationship only became official in 2022 after they had already brought the case against the former president and his co-defendants.

Willis’ office reportedly paid Wade $654,000 in 2022 as part of his work on the election interference case. 

The findings of the state Senate investigation will inform legislative actions, including possibly enacting laws to ensure more accountability and oversight of the DA’s office, according to the Georgia Senate.