Kategorie: Humans

The appalling response by Georgian authorities to allegations that prohibited toxic chemicals were used against protestors to suppress peaceful demonstrations must be met with an international investigation and a complete embargo on all policing equipment, Amnesty International said today in a public statement.

On 1 December 2025, the BBC documentary When Water Burns presented evidence suggesting that water cannon deployed during protests in Georgia in November-December 2024, sprayed water mixed with bromobenzyl cyanide. This World War I-era tear gas, also known as camite, is an harmful toxic chemical that can cause burns, vomiting, shortness of breath and other serious long-lasting injuries. The findings reinforced concerns previously raised by local watchdogs, medical professionals and Amnesty International about the alleged use of toxic chemicals against protestors during the 2024 anti-government rallies.

The Georgian authorities’ immediate reaction was to deny the allegations. The ruling party has publicly denounced the BBC documentary as containing “absurd and false claims” and labelled the BBC a “fake media” organisation. However, following public outcry over the BBC report, the State Security Service of Georgia (SSG) announced an investigation into the allegations. But instead of taking steps to establish the relevant facts and verify the evidence presented, Georgian authorities have begun targeting experts, witnesses, human rights defenders and journalists whose testimonies were presented in the documentary, on suspicion of “abuse of official powers” and “assisting a foreign organization in hostile activity”.

“The Georgian authorities are responding to these serious allegations with a Kafkaesque combination of measures: on the one hand, a wave of fear-mongering and reprisals against witnesses and journalists who came forward; on the other, outright denial and dismissal of evidence as ‘absurd’ – all while keeping the appearance that the investigation into injuries sustained by protesters is underway,” said Denis Krivosheev Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The Georgian authorities are responding to these serious allegations with a Kafkaesque combination of measures: on the one hand, a wave of fear-mongering and reprisals against witnesses and journalists who came forward; on the other, outright denial and dismissal of evidence as ‘absurd’ – all while keeping the appearance that the investigation into injuries sustained by protesters is underway

Denis Krivosheev Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Experts, witnesses and civil society targeted

Following the BBC broadcast, experts, witnesses and human rights defenders who shared information were summoned for questioning by the SSG, including under procedures typically used for serious criminal cases. The authorities alleged that their testimonies may amount to a criminal offence, by harming Georgia’s national interests and reputation.

On 2 December, Konstantine Chakhunashvili, a doctor who assessed protesters exposed to chemical agents, was summoned less than 24 hours after the documentary aired. He and his colleagues, David Chakhunashvili and Gela Ghunashvili, who co-authored the study into the injuries caused by the toxic chemicals used against protesters, were also questioned about their contacts with journalists.

Representatives of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) and Transparency International Georgia, both of which provided publicly available information to the BBC, were also summoned before magistrate judges.

“By branding the sharing of information with journalists as ‘hostile activity’ and summoning and casting experts, civil society groups, and victims as threats to ‘state interests,’ the authorities are undermining the integrity of the investigation and creating a chilling effect on freedom of expression,” said Denis Krivosheev.

By branding the sharing of information with journalists as ‘hostile activity’ and summoning and casting experts, civil society groups, and victims as threats to ‘state interests,’ the authorities are undermining the integrity of the investigation

Denis Krivosheev Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Call for accountability and a complete embargo on transfers of policing equipment

The SSG’s flawed investigation is part of a wider pattern in which Georgian authorities seek to shield law enforcement from accountability. Amnesty International has consistently documented the systemic abuse of the justice system to silence dissent and sustain a climate of impunity for human rights violations committed by law enforcement officers.

“The intimidation of experts and witnesses, combined with the authorities’ perverse approach to the very idea of an investigation into these allegations, makes independent international scrutiny essential,” said Denis Krivosheev

“Amnesty International calls for the creation of an international mechanism of enquiry into the alleged use of toxic chemicals against protesters and other use of unlawful force by Georgian law enforcement during 2024 protests and for state parties to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to support a Fact-Finding Mission.”

In addition, Georgia’s international partners must adopt robust measures, including a compete embargo on transfers of law enforcement equipment and weapons used against protesters.

States must ensure that equipment capable of causing harm is not supplied to a government that has already violated basic human rights

Denis Krivosheev Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

“States must ensure that equipment capable of causing harm is not supplied to a government that has already violated basic human rights,” Denis Krivosheev said.

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Reacting to the Kremlin’s latest abuse of the criminal justice system to target Yabloko, the last remaining officially registered political party in Russia that has been openly calling for an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:

“In preparation for the September 2026 parliamentary election, Russian authorities are steadily dismantling what remains of peaceful political opposition. It is clear they want to purge the political landscape of any groups which are not under the Kremlin’s control and do not share its agenda, including its ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine.

It is clear [that the Russian authorities] want to purge the political landscape of any groups which are not under the Kremlin’s control and do not share its agenda, including its ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine

Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

“The pressure on Yabloko’s leadership is relentless. Deputy Chair Lev Shlosberg, convicted under the “foreign agents” law, faces a new criminal case opened today. Another Deputy Chair, Maksim Kruglov, was arrested in October, and party leader Nikolai Rybakov is farcically convicted for “extremism.” These reprisals are a deliberate effort to silence the last organized political force in Russia that consistently calls for peace and speaks out against human rights violations.

“Criminalizing calls for a ceasefire and prosecuting individuals for peacefully expressing views on Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine are blatant attacks on freedom of expression. The Russian authorities must immediately and unconditionally overturn these convictions and drop all the baseless charges against the Yabloko leadership, as well as release all those detained solely for their anti-war views, and repeal war censorship legislation that criminalizes dissent.”

Background

On 5 November 2025, Lev Shlosberg was sentenced to 420 hours of community service for “violation of foreign agent’s duties”. The authorities claimed that he had not marked five videos posted on social media with the “foreign agent” disclaimer. The second criminal case against him – under the “discreditation of Armed Forces” charge – is ongoing.

On 5 December 2025, authorities opened a third criminal case against Lev Shlosberg for “spreading false information about the Armed Forces” over a repost from February 2022. It happened just days before he was due to be released from six months of house arrest that could no longer be legally extended, under a previous “discreditation” case. A day earlier, in two separate cases, St Petersburg courts fined party Chair Nikolai Rybakov RUB 1,500 (USD 19.5) and senior politician, Boris Vishnevsky, RUB 15,000 (USD 195). Rybakov was fined for “sharing extremist symbols” – namely, a photograph of the late opposition figure Aleksei Navalny which Rybakov posted on the day of Navalny’s death. Vishnevsky was fined for allegedly “cooperating with an undesirable organization” in an interview with the elections-monitoring group Golos, which authorities claim is linked to the banned European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations.

These fines serve as pretexts for further reprisals: Rybakov’s “extremism” case already bars him from running in the September 2026 parliamentary election, while the case against Vishnevsky paves the way for subsequent criminal prosecution if he is accused of “cooperation with an undesirable organization” again.

On 2 October 2025, Yabloko’s Deputy Chair Maksim Kruglov was arrested and placed in pre-trial detention over two 2022 Telegram posts referring to UN estimates of civilian casualties in Ukraine and the killings of civilians in Bucha.

At least five other Yabloko party regional leaders and members have been prosecuted. Around 50 administrative cases have been initiated against Yabloko members across Russia’s regions. Eleven Yabloko members, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov and veteran human rights defender Svetlana Gannushkina, have been designated “foreign agents.”  

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Responding to an announcement on 04 December that Burkina Faso’s government has decided to reintroduce the death penalty seven years after it was abolished for ordinary crimes as part of a reform of the Penal Code, Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa said:

“The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, and an irreversible denial of the right to life.

“This punishment has no unique deterrent effect, it disproportionately affects those from disadvantaged backgrounds and carries the danger of being used as a repressive tool to punish dissent.

Burkina Faso must immediately halt any plans to reinstate the death penalty regardless of the nature of the offences or crimes committed.

Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa

“The Transitional National Council must oppose the reintroduction of death penalty in the Penal Code, which would set Burkina Faso against the goal of abolition of the death penalty enshrined under various international and regional human rights treaties and instruments.

“Burkina Faso must immediately halt any plans to reinstate the death penalty regardless of the nature of the offences or crimes committed. Countries that still retain the death penalty are an isolated minority as the world continues to move away from this cruel punishment.”

Background

During a cabinet meeting on 04 December, the Burkinabe government adopted a draft bill to reform the Penal Code, which includes reinstating the death penalty for certain offences such as “high treason,” “terrorism,” and “acts of espionage”, as announced by the Burkinabe government’s information service. The bill must be approved by the Transitional Legislative Assembly.

The death penalty has been abolished in the Penal Code of Burkina Faso since 2018. The last recorded execution in the country was in 1988.

Trends recorded so far in 2025 indicate that executions have significantly increased in a handful of countries, with some governments showing renewed determination to use this cruel punishment as a tool of repression and control. The overwhelming majority of countries has rejected the death penalty in law or practice.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception – regardless of who is accused, the nature or circumstances of the crime, guilt or innocence or method of execution.

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Reacting to today’s vote by the Faroese parliament (the ‘Lagtinget’/‘Løgting’) to amend the law to permit access to abortion on request up until the end of the twelfth week of pregnancy, Turið Maria, Director of Amnesty International Faroe Islands said:    

“Today’s vote amending the Faroe Islands’ deeply outdated and restrictive abortion law is an important step towards ensuring the provision of safe and legal abortion.    

Whilst today’s vote is a positive step, the stark reality remains that those who provide or help facilitate abortion still face criminalization

“It is the result of years of tireless campaigning by activists who have fought to lift restrictions on access to abortion. These restrictions – some of the most severe in Europe -have had a devastating impact on generations of women and other people who need abortion care, endangering lives, jeopardizing health and forcing many to make costly trips abroad, mostly to Denmark. 

“Whilst today’s vote is a positive step, the stark reality remains that those who provide or help facilitate abortion still face criminalization. Decriminalizing abortion is essential to ensuring all people who need abortion services, as well as abortion providers, activists and advocates, are not threatened with criminal or other punitive sanctions for accessing, assisting someone to access, or delivering abortion services.”   

Background    

Faroe Islands are a self-governing autonomous territory within Denmark.    

The new abortion law will replace the 1956 Abortion Act that allowed abortions only in cases of rape or incest, life or health of the pregnant woman, foetus impairment or social grounds.   

Today’s vote saw MPs voting in favour of the law follows a first vote in parliament on 3 December which passed, 17 votes to 16.   

For more information contact press@amnesty.org or Turið Maria Jóhansdóttir at turid@amnesty.fo   

    

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The “Intellexa Leaks”, a new joint investigation by Inside Story, Haaretz and WAV Research Collective with technical analysis provided by Amnesty International, exposes the internal operations of Intellexa,  – a company notorious for selling highly invasive spyware Predator linked to human rights abuses in multiple countries. 

Responding to the investigation published today, Jurre van Bergen, Technologist at Amnesty International’s Security Lab said:  

“This investigation provides one of the clearest and most damning views yet into Intellexa’s internal operations and technology. 

Jurre van Bergen, Technologist at Amnesty International’s Security Lab

“The fact that, at least in some cases, Intellexa appears to have retained the capability to remotely access Predator customer logs – allowing company staff to see details of surveillance operations and targeted individuals raises questions about its own human rights due diligence processes. If a mercenary spyware company is found to be directly involved in the operation of its product, then by human rights standards, it could potentially leave them open to claims of liability in cases of misuse and if any human rights abuses are caused by the use of spyware.     

“Predator spyware was also implicated in surveillance attacks in 2021, such as against the Greek journalist Thanasis Koukakis, based on digital forensic research by Citizen Lab. Information in the leaked files now adds to the evidence connecting Intellexa’s products to violations of human rights, such as rights to privacy and freedom of expression. 

“These revelations come at a time when new cases of Predator spyware abuse are coming to light, showing that Intellexa’s product continues to be used to unlawfully surveil activists, journalists and human rights defenders around the world. Amnesty International’s Security Lab uncovered an attack against a human rights lawyer from Pakistan’s Balochistan province over WhatsApp during the summer of 2025, proving that the Predator spyware is being actively used in Pakistan, gravely violating privacy and freedom of expression rights. 

“Even more alarming is the company’s latest development of a new spyware product called Aladdin which can infect mobiles through online advertisements.” 

Background 

The “Intellexa Leaks” is a months-long investigation drawing on a set of highly sensitive documents and other materials leaked from the company, including internal company documents, sales and marketing material, as well as training videos. An in-depth analysis of the leaked materials, as well as details of the reply received by Haaretz from Intellexa’s founder, responding to a request for comment from the company, can be found in Amnesty International’s Security Lab technical briefing, “To Catch a Predator: Leak exposes the internal operations of Intellexa’s spyware”.   

Amnesty International has previously documented Intellexa’s technical capabilities and numerous cases of abuse linked to their spyware products as part of “Predator Files” in 2023. Ongoing investigations into the attack campaign in Pakistan and other instances of abuse will be released in a series of upcoming Amnesty International reports.  

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