On Monday, the US State Department issued its annual report on human rights in the countries of the world for 2022. Regarding Georgia, the document says that impunity remains the main problem, despite the government's actions to investigate violations

 The main part of the report touches on several episodes of impunity for the organizers of the July 2021 violence. It concerns the use of inappropriate force by the police against journalists and demonstrators during the actions in June 2019, as well as the kidnapping of Azerbaijani journalist and activist Afgan Mukhtarla from Georgia in 2017.

 The State Department notes that the Ombudsman and non-governmental organizations assessed the case of former Mtavari Arkhi CEO Niki Gwaramiya as political persecution. According to Amnesty International, Gwaramiya's trial "revealed the government's growing influence over the courts in a series of cases aimed at silencing critics and opponents of the government."

 The document said that actions taken by the authorities in December 2021 led to the creation of two separate agencies to investigate cases of abuse of power and disclosure of personal data. Unlike the previous mandate, the law does not allow the new investigative body to investigate murders and assaults committed by prosecutors.

 Prior to the parliament's decision, the Special Investigative Service was investigating the alleged inhumane treatment of former President Mykhailo Saakashvili in November 2021 during his forced transfer from the Rustaveli prison to the penitentiary clinic in Hldan.

 The Investigative Service said the Ministry of Justice and the Special Penitentiary Service violated data protection laws by publishing several scandalous videos about Saakashvili.

In addition, the report describes an episode in May 2022 in the Chugureti District of Tbilisi where a group of approximately 30 people attacked five transgender women in their home. The law makes acts based on prejudice because of a person's sexual orientation or gender identity an aggravating circumstance for all crimes. However, according to NGOs, the government rarely enforced this law.

 The report describes in detail human rights violations in the self-proclaimed republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

 The State Department has been preparing such reports for almost 50 years in cooperation with local and international statistical and human rights organizations. Information from different countries is reviewed for compliance with international legislation and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations.

 Among the events that caused the greatest concern in 2022, the authors of the report named Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, the suppression of mass protests in Iran, repression against Muslims in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and the oppression of women in Afghanistan. In addition, the critical situation with civil and political rights was noted from South Sudan, Syria and Cambodia.