On July 5, 2011, the Georgian Party, which accused law enforcement agencies of the illegal detention and torture of its members and supporters, held a protest rally. Under the slogan “Stop the Torture of Detainees”, members of the party’s youth organization gathered in front of the so-called Moduli building — the headquarters of the Interior Ministry’s investigative units. The protesters silently marched in a single line along the building.

According to the party’s political secretary, Erosi Kitsmarishvili, people were being held illegally inside the transparent Moduli building, where, as he claimed, they were being tortured to extract testimonies that the government used against political opponents.

Leaders of the Georgian Party also reported that law enforcement officers had physically assaulted Gocha Chikhladze, the former driver of ex-Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili, who was later hospitalized. The demonstrators expressed solidarity with Chikhladze and a group of about 20 people affiliated with the party, all of whom had been sentenced to two months of pretrial detention. They were accused of illegal possession of firearms and participation in an armed group, but the party insisted they were arrested solely for political reasons. Suspicion deepened when four of the detainees refused legal counsel.

Meanwhile, party representatives spoke about surveillance near their office, which culminated in a late-night police raid on July 4. Video footage showed a large group of police officers entering the Georgian Party’s office, with several climbing over a metal fence to gain access to the yard. The Ministry of Internal Affairs did not comment on the incident.

Political parties, NGOs, and individual activists condemned the arrests as politically motivated. Many signed a statement prepared by the Georgian Party, calling on the international community to respond to the ongoing political persecution in Georgia.