In response to the developments in Adigeni township, the Social Justice Center and the Solidarity Community call on the State to take effective measures to protect the freedom of religion and religious equality, and social peace.

On 8 March 2024, a group of local Orthodox clergymen and their parishioners (up to 200 individuals) approached a building owned by Imam Merab (Iusup) Mikeladze in Adigeni and demanded that the latter leave the building. At that point of time, there were just for individuals present in the building owned by Mikeladze who was performing a Friday prayer (Jummah). Nikoloz Getsadze, a priest of Zarzma church approached the imam’s home and attempted to break through the police line to forcefully enter the building. Getsadze used insulting and derogatory expressions while calling out on Mikeladze: “Get your ass out you [curse]”, “I will tear your ‘f*****g face off”, “I swear I will make you a limper till the end of your days”. The priest also threatened that [“this house] will never be yours” followed by his companions who repeatedly claimed that “[the house] will be ours, of people of Georgia”, “It will belong to Christians”. The factual circumstances around the incident are corroborated by video recordings made by media and bystanders released through social media. The police dispatched at the scene did not allow local media outlets to approach and record the incident.

Notably, a similar incident took place last Friday involving Orthodox clergy demanding that Muslims leave the building.

Adigeni mayor, Gocha Kimadze told the public that the building is a residential house, not a mosque, and it is against the law to turn it into a mosque. Therefore, it will be closed on Monday. According to a representative of the Administration of all Muslims of Georgia, the building does not belong to the Administration and nor is it planned to open a mosque in that place.

Later on, the Administration of all Muslims of Georgia released a statement in relation to the incident while the Georgian Patriarchate has not yet responded to this occurrence.

It should be noted that the first instance of interfering with the religious activities in the building owned by Merab (Iusup) Mikeladze took place as early as early July 2023 when local Orthodox clergy, gathered at Mikeladze’s home, demanded that Muslim spiritual leaders cease their religious activities under threats. The police managed to deescalate verbal altercations. After the incidents, representatives of local and central authorities brokered negotiations between Christian Orthodox and Muslim spiritual leaders during which, in order to avoid further conflicts and confrontations, the Muslims agreed to compromise. More specifically, they agreed to continue performing religious services in the home of imam Merab (Iusup) Mikeladze until the municipal authorities purchase a plot of land for religious purposes in the village Ijareti, not so close to Adigeni. However, as of today, the municipal authorities have not yet handed over an alternative building to the Muslim community.

First and foremost, the right to assemble for religious purposes in private property is enshrined by the legislation and constitutional provisions. Therefore, the claim of the local authorities that assemble of people in a building for religious purposes is illegal is unlawful, is unjustified and arbitrary. The assemble of people gathered for religious purposes does not turn a building into a mosque. Therefore, looking at this incident form this perspective is also wrong. However, it should also be noted that the existing legal framework does not define any particular rules and procedures when it comes to the construction of religious buildings which are subject to the same rules as applied to the construction of all other types of buildings. The Georgian legislation also allows not-for-profit organizations to implement informal education programs. The only area that is regulated by the legal framework, is the licensing of institutions providing round the clock care. In this particular case, it is only for brief period of time that local students gather in Imam’s house after school hours to be given lessons in the Koran. Therefore, using the privately owned building in Adigeni township for religious studies and assembly, under no circumstances, constitutes a violation of law and the statement previously made by the representatives of the authorities is unjustified and lacking a legal ground.

It should also be mentioned that the Administration of all Muslims of Georgia is not the only Muslim organization in Georgia. In spite of the government’s efforts to promote the Administration as the only organization representing the country’s Muslim communities, on the one hand, and controlling and meddling with the Administration’s activities on the other, neither the standards of religious freedom, or the existing legislation pertaining to the registration of religious organizations recognizes any restrictions or hierarchies in this regard. Moreover, when it comes to religious organizations, pluralism is one of the fundamental principles respected by Islam which means that the system is not centralized or vertically organized. It is critical that this context be given due consideration during deliberations around this issue and that the State refrain from interfering in the religious autonomy of religious organizations.

It is evident that attempts to break in the building owned by Imam Merab (Iusup) Mikeladze, and making threats, is one of the acts in a series (similar occurrences took place last Friday as well as in the summer of 2023) perpetrated by the same individuals. Such acts contain signs of more than one offence including persecution (Article 156 of the Criminal Code of Georgia) and unlawful interreference with the performance of religious services (Article 155 of the Criminal Code of Georgia). It is the climate conducive to impunity that reproduces new incidents of continuous violence which threaten to undermine social peace and cohesion in our society.

Alarmingly, this is not the first instance of violating the rights of Georgian Muslim communities in Gardabani who have been subject to physical, social, and symbolic abuse, violence and intimidation for more than a decade. For instance, in 2013, the state authorities unlawfully demolished a minaret of a local mosque in the village of Chela and quelled the protest with violence and detentions. A similar incident took place in 2014, in the village of Mokhe, when the local authorities started dismantling a historical mosque and violently dispersed the protest with mass detentions and misuse of force (as laid down in the decision of the European Court of Human Rights). In 2017, a local woman who had been actively engaged in Islamophobic campaigns in Mokhe was appointed as a director of the local school (after an incumbent Muslim director had been dismissed under dubious circumstances). The newly appointed director demanded from a Muslim student to take off her hijab sparking a protest among the Muslim community. A state commission established to resolve issues around historical and confessional ownership of the historical Mokhe mosque failed to fulfil its mandate and in 2017, decided to grant the mosque the status of contested cultural monument as a result of which, the mosque remains inaccessible to the local Muslim communities. Measures undertaken by the state to protect the building from destruction are weak and ineffective. In response to the existing challenges, the state handed over resources for the construction of a new mosque to the local Muslim community. In 2016, in the village of Adigeni, local authorities refused to allocate a plot of land to the local Muslim community for a cemetery. Physical violence ensued on part of the local Orthodox Christian community after their Muslim neighbors decided to speak out about this issue. There was no legal action undertaken in response to these incidents. In 2018, in the village of Kvabijvari, the state authorities transferred a plot of land with the area of 8 ha to the ownership of the Georgian Patriarchate leaving local Muslim farmers, who had been using the plot for years, without vital resources (the illegitimacy of the decision is partially recognized by domestic courts).

In all above-mentioned instances, the state has failed to provide an adequate legal response and in majority of cases no charges have been pressed against alleged perpetrators. It is evident, that persisting impunity promulgates new incidents which clashes with the principles of rule of law as a basis of the state.

Stances and rhetoric chosen by local authorities in all above cases have been highly problematic in their breach of religious neutrality and equality. The statement made by Gocha Kimadze yesterday draws a line between “us” and them” and therefore, contradicts aspirations and ideals of a democratic state, the country’s constitution, and principles of secularity.

All the above-described cases of religious intolerance, abuse, and intimidation in Adigeni municipality share the same narrative and follow the same pattern. Local Orthodox community, on the one hand, have protested against Muslim neighbors’ demonstrating their religiosity, and by protesting, highlighted their monopoly and exclusive rights over public space, on the other. They claimed the land to be Georgian and Christian, which means that Muslims cannot have the same right in the space. This form of nationalism sets extremely narrow religious and ethnic markers to define us – citizens of Georgia and ignores the principle of equal citizenship. Such a framework is exclusionist, oppressive and reproduces inequality, hierarchical relations, and alienation. It is critical that both the state and the Church of Georgia acknowledge the extent to which the dominant narrative and perceptions have threatened and undermined peaceful coexistence and take steps towards changing them. Sadly, no attempts to do so has been observed on part of either of these institutions.

It should also be noted that all above-described cases of religious intolerance took place in the villages with eco-migrant communities, where there has been little social cohesion and almost no memory of shared life and traditions among diverse religious groups. Obviously, these circumstances should have prompted the state to undertake positive interventions and efforts to build inclusive social environment. However, the has not implemented a positive equality policy which, on the one hand, would facilitate confidence building and bridging between communities with the history of conflict, while creating safe and inclusive environment conducive to equality for non-dominant religious groups.

Considering the above said, we call on:

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor’s Office to

• Launch an investigation in the persecution of Georgian Muslim community in Adigeni, and unlawful interference in exercising their religious freedom, and punish perpetrators
• Take measures for effective and long-term prevention of violent incidents
• Raise awareness and improve knowledge and sensitivity of local police officers of issues related to equality and religious neutrality

Mayor of Adigeni and other representatives of local authorities to

• Irrevocably protect the constitutional principles of religious neutrality and equality and align their statements with the provisions and tenets of the law

Government of Georgia to

• Condemn each and every manifestation of religious intolerance and discrimination, and increase the content highlighting the importance of democracy, equality, and respect for diversity, in their rhetoric
• Take measures to prevent religious intolerance and violence in a systemic manner, including through implementing effective criminal justice policies and strengthening human rights protection measures in public service
• Implement inclusive policies in municipalities with religious diversity, which will create safe, just, and fair political and social environment for non-dominant religious groups on the one hand, and build confidence and prevent conflicts between various communities, on the other.

Georgian Patriarchate

• Probe into processes ongoing in Akhaltsikhe diocese over the course of many years and take measures so that local clergy refrain from intimidating Muslim communities and undermining both constitutional and Christian principles of equal and peaceful co-existence.

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