In recent days, media reports have circulated about two violent incidents, which were reportedly ^[1]motivated by ethnic intolerance. In both cases, the perpetrators attacked members of Azerbaijani ethnic  minority due to their lack of knowledge of the Georgian language. Despite the fact that the circumstances of both incidents clearly indicate the motive of these acts of violence, according to the available information, the investigation has not yet identified intolerance or discrimination as the motive. These violent incidents once again remind us of the government's unsuccessful and superficial integration policies and the systemic problems regarding the access of ethnic minorities to quality education.

On September 24, 2025, in Tbilisi, near a fast-food restaurant on Aghmashenebeli Avenue, an armed individual verbally insulted and then threatened with a weapon an ethnic Azerbaijani mother and her adult son, employees of the restaurant, due to their lack of knowledge of the Georgian language. According to the victim, the armed individual expressed particular aggression towards Muslims. The armed individual was later arrested by the police, and an investigation is ongoing under the charges of illegal possession, acquisition, and carrying of firearms, as well as threatening.

Four days before the incident on Aghmashenebeli Avenue, on September 19, Mamuka Gigani, son of Deputy Chair of the Marneuli City Council, and an employee of the same municipality, physically assaulted and verbally insulted an ethnic Azerbaijani minor at a local confectionery due to the minor's lack of knowledge of the Georgian language. Gigani told the ethnic Azerbaijani citizen to "return to their homeland." According to media reports, the minor's mother was coerced by affiliates of the high-ranking official of the Marneuli municipality into signing a statement, in which she declared that she and her child had no complaints against Mamuka Gigani. This statement was used by the court, and on September 22, Gigani was released from detention after posting a 15,000 GEL bond. Criminal charges were pressed against Gigani under Article 126 of the Criminal Code, which refers to violence against minors. It is still unclear whether Mamuka Gigani has been suspended or continues to work as a public servant.

Under the conditions of unsuccessful state integration policies, populations belonging to ethnically Georgian and ethnic minority groups live side by side but are alienated from each other. This is evidenced by numerous conflicts arising in daily life, with ethnic connotations, to which the state fails to respond with systematic, positive measures, and, consequently, is unable to prevent them. This problem is exemplified by the incident near the village of Nakhiduri. On December 30, 2024, a car driven by an ethnically Georgian citizen collided with two ethnically Azerbaijani school students near Nakhiduri, which resulted in a physical confrontation between local ethnically Azerbaijani and ethnically Georgian citizens just minutes later. As a result, two school students died in the accident, and 10 individuals were hospitalized due to the physical altercation. A similar conflict that arose in 2021 in Dmanisi, rooted in minute everyday issues, points to systemic challenges of integration policies, as well as the historical, traumatic collective memory of the minority-populated region where different ethnic groups live in social isolation, in a non-inclusive and unequal environment. In all cases, the state ignored the broader social context of the tensions and failed to provide appropriate legal assessment and response.

It is important to note that hate crimes motivated are symbolic crimes. Their targets are specific individuals because of their social belonging, and these attacks are often perceived as an attack on the entire community, both by the perpetrators and the victims. Such crimes destroy social cohesion and equality, often becoming the cause of inter-community conflicts and violence. For this reason, proper identification/qualification of hate-motivated crimes, the implementation of appropriate preventive measures, and a strict legal response are essential. Unfortunately, in recent years, the state has shown demonstrative indifference and blindness towards such crimes.

In addition to the fact that the state fails to respond to conflicts with ethnic overtones with positive and preventive mechanisms, for years, the state has been unable to ensure the linguistic rights of minorities and access to quality education, nor did it manage to erase the existing systemic barriers in this regard.

The linguistic rights of ethnic minorities are enshrined in numerous international legal documents, and Georgia has an obligation to enforce them. A systematic analysis of these international documents reveals that the use of linguistic rights by ethnic minorities simultaneously combines the state's obligation to support and recognize minority languages, as well as its responsibility not to interfere in the language choice of minorities when they interact in public and private spaces^[2]. It is important to note that the spirit of such regulation is to protect the representatives of ethnic minorities from the dominant environment, where they would be forced to deny their identity, language, and culture, and be compelled to adapt to the agenda set by the majority.^[3] Moreover, in addition to not limiting minorities' use of their language in private and public life, the state is obligated to: "in areas where persons belonging to national minorities traditionally live in large numbers, and where there is a real need for this, the parties to the Convention will, as far as possible, ensure the conditions for the use of the minority language in relations between these persons and administrative authorities^[4]. It is significant to note that the recognition of the linguistic needs and rights of ethnic minorities is directly linked to their participation and integration in public life^[5].

Despite the fact that the Georgian government has set policy priorities in the direction of integration and civil equality, including improving the right of minorities to participate in public life, as well as access to quality education, no effective steps or changes have been made in these areas over the years, and systemic problems remain a challenge.  Minorities face barriers at all levels of education, which hinder their full access to language knowledge.  For example, there is an insufficient number of kindergartens in villages populated by ethnic minorities. Due to the extreme shortage of kindergarten infrastructure, children’s enrollment in preschool education in regions densely populated by ethnic minorities is only 25.5%, whereas this indicator for the entire country is 65%.^[6] It is noteworthy that in some municipalities, such as Bolnisi and Dmanisi, where the share of ethnic minorities in the total population is 68.3% and 65.9% respectively, according to 2024 data, none of the 21 kindergartens are located in villages populated by minorities.

The situation is no better in schools – minority schools face a lack of teaching staff, and the qualifications of the existing staff are significantly below the national average. In schools where teaching is conducted in minority languages, only five hours per week are dedicated to Georgian language instruction, and there is also a serious shortage of Georgian language and literature teachers^[7]. As a result, according to 2021 data, 40.3% of ethnic minorities are unable to recognize Georgian letters properly or read words accurately. In this regard, the situation is particularly poor in Kakheti (except for Pankisi), where this indicator reaches 63.8%. According to their own assessment, 39.8% are unable to communicate effectively with Georgian-speaking individuals, and 50.8% struggle with reading Georgian literature and understanding its content. Additionally, 42.1% find it difficult to understand information from Georgian television channels^[8]. These data highlight serious failures in the state's educational policies regarding ethnic minorities. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe called on the Georgian government, in its most recent 2024 assessment, to improve the quality of Georgian language teaching, especially in schools where teaching is conducted in minority languages. However, due to insufficient human resources, the inadequate knowledge of Georgian among teachers, and the lack of an appropriate methodology for teaching the state language, the quality of Georgian language knowledge has not improved.

The use of hate speech and aggressive discourse against ethnic minorities, based on their lack of language proficiency, is unfortunately not a new phenomenon in our society, and we have seen waves of such hate speech multiple times, including during the pandemic and in the context of events surrounding the David Gareja Monastery Complex incident. Despite these difficult experiences, the state has not taken appropriate measures to reduce hate speech or to implement policies and campaigns based on the rights and equality of minorities. Furthermore, the State Minister’s Office for Reconciliation and Civic Equality remains virtually silent during such crises and demonstrates complete inaction even after such incidents. Against the backdrop of these events, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, in 2024, urged the state to take appropriate measures to effectively investigate, prosecute, and punish hate-motivated crimes and calls for ethnic, racial, or religious hatred; as well as to take action against existing stereotypes and misconceptions about ethnic minorities, including through awareness-raising campaigns and appropriate responses to incidents of hate speech^[9].

Over the years, the superficial and illusory nature of integration policies has led to the fragmentation of our society’s social fabric and the isolation between communities. This process of fragmentation and alienation has not been adequately recognized by the state. Moreover, the state’s inaction, the lack of effective measures, and its failure to acknowledge the systemic problems described above further fuel violence and hate speech. For this reason, it is important that the condemnation of such violent actions be given high political significance, and that, when adopting legal measures, the identification of discriminatory motives become a priority for law enforcement agencies.

In light of the above, the Social Justice Center urges the relevant state agencies:

Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor’s Office:

• In cases of attacks and violence, identify the motive of intolerance and provide appropriate qualification to the investigation, while refraining from adopting an approach encouraging impunity, violence and hate.
• Take preventive measures to prevent such violence, including proper communication with the public regarding the state’s strict approach to such incidents.

State Minister’s Office for Reconciliation and Civic Equality:

• Take appropriate measures to mitigate the severe social consequences of such crimes and facilitate dialogue and connection-building between communities in the municipalities of Marneuli, Dmanisi, and Bolnisi, and prevent potential conflicts.
• Conduct a campaign on the minority rights and equality,, focusing on the state’s legal obligations in this area.

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