Human rights defenders called the beating of the imam in Akhaltsikhe a hate crime.
In Akhaltsikhe, in the yard of his father's house, the imam of the local mosque, Meskhetian Turk Shevket Dvalidze, was beaten. According to him, the police insisted that he withdraw his statement about the beating. The reason for the conflict was the linguistic and religious affiliation of the victims, human rights defenders indicated.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", returning Meskhetian Turks to Georgia faced a problem with obtaining citizenship and documents, studying the Georgian language, and they are not allowed to settle in some regions.
Meskhetian Turks (Turk. Ahıska Türkleri) are ethnic Turks who historically lived in Meskhetia – a region in the southwest of Georgia. Currently, Meskhetian Turks live in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, and the USA. They are also called "ахыска", "Turks-Ahıska", "Akhaltsikhe Turks", "Caucasian Turks". In 2004-2005, some Meskhetian Turks living in Krasnodar Krai left for the USA under pressure from local authorities, as reported in the material "Meskhetian Turks" published in the "Directory" on "Caucasian Knot".
According to the family, a group of more than ten people attacked the imam of the local mosque, Shevket Dvalidze. The police detained only two participants in the attack, but later the court released them on bail, reports the publication "Batumelebi".
"Shevket Dvalidze is a Muslim Meskhetian. He returned to Georgia in 2001 with part of his family. After living in Marneuli, he moved to Akhaltsikhe, and since 2010 he has lived in the city of Vale. For the last 10 years, he has been the imam of the Akhaltsikhe mosque," writes the television company "Pirveli".
According to his son Omar Dvalidze, the conflict arose from a conversation in Turkish with a cousin who came from Turkey to visit. They were walking when they encountered two groups of people: younger and older. At first, the conversation was calm: the young people approached them, started talking, and offered to drink beer. Omar explained that they are Muslims and do not consume alcohol. His cousin did not know the Georgian language, so Omar translated the conversation from Georgian to Turkish.
It was after this that one of the men from the older group began to make claims: why they were speaking Turkish if they were in Georgia. He repeated several times that in the country one should speak Georgian.
Then the man began to ask who they were and why they came to Akhaltsikhe. When Omar explained that they were visiting their grandfather, near whose house they were standing, questions followed about relatives. After the name of his uncle was mentioned, the man began to insult him because of the name and touched his 16-year-old brother, who ran home, and Omar followed him. A group of 10-12 people began to chase them and entered the yard of their grandfather's house.
Omar's father, Shevket Dvalidze, came out at the noise. According to the family, as soon as he asked what was happening, he was immediately struck in the face. The imam was knocked to the ground, after which several people began to beat him with their feet. Female relatives and neighbors came out of the house and managed to stop the attack, after which the police were called.
The police quickly detained two people. An investigation has been initiated under Article 126 of the Criminal Code concerning violence, the publication clarified, citing the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia.
The imam himself stated that after the attack he does not feel completely safe. In more than 16 years of living in Vale, he has never encountered such treatment. The imam also reported that he withdrew his statement from the police, stating that the police influenced him to do so.
"I filed a statement. The Akhaltsikhe police worked very actively! Thank them. They indirectly pushed me to withdraw the statement. I am grateful to them; those who understand will understand," Shevket Dvalidze said ironically.
In his address, Shevket Dvalidze emphasized that Muslim Meskhetians want to live in peace with other residents of Georgia. He noted that representatives of this community work, build houses, participate in the life of the country, and try to learn Georgian.
"If a person decides to live here, the government should support him, provide him with citizenship or a residence permit. Georgia is a warm country. Should it treat its own population like this? Warmth should be felt. We are not asking for anything more. You know that the Turks from Akhaltsikhe are hardworking people. We do not interfere with anyone; we earn everything through our labor," Dvalidze said.
Reaction of the Ombudsman and Human Rights Defenders
After the criminal case was initiated, the office of the Ombudsman of Georgia announced that it would begin studying the case and request materials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Human rights defenders link the incident to a broader problem regarding the situation of Muslim Meskhetians in Georgia. After the deportation of this community by Soviet authorities in 1944, the issue of return and full integration has remained unresolved for decades.
"The attack on Imam Shevket Dvalidze in Akhaltsikhe cannot be called ordinary physical violence. The actual circumstances of the case show that the reason for the conflict was the linguistic and religious affiliation of the victims. As the victims themselves recount, the confrontation began at the very moment they started speaking to each other in Turkish," emphasized the head of the "Center for Social Justice" Tamta Mikeladze.
In her opinion, this is why the investigation must consider this case as a possible hate crime and thoroughly investigate the discriminatory motives.
"An independent Georgian state has taken on the obligation to facilitate the repatriation process, but in practice, this process has not become a full-fledged and effective mechanism for restoring historical injustice. The repatriation process has been characterized for many years by administrative barriers, delays, and insufficient state support. As a result, a significant part of those who wanted to return still find themselves in an uncertain legal and social situation. This is not just a procedural problem. The incompleteness of repatriation is directly related to how much the state recognizes the historical experience of this group and considers it a full-fledged part of Georgian society," Mikeladze stated.
Reaction of Turkey
A member of the Turkish parliament from the Justice and Development Party Kaan Koch spoke in the Turkish parliament and condemned the events in Georgia. He thanked the Georgian police and emphasized that Meskhetian Turks are not without support.
In 1944, the Meskhetian Turks living in Georgia were forcibly resettled by Stalin's order to Central Asia. Between 90,000 and 116,000 people were deported in three days, a significant part of whom died on the way from diseases and hunger. In 1956, Meskhetian Turks were granted the right to return to the Caucasus, but a significant part of them remained in already populated areas of Central Asia. After ethnic clashes in the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan in May-June 1989, more than 70,000 Meskhetians fled to Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine, as noted in the material "Deportation of Meskhetian Turks: 73 years without a homeland" published on "Caucasian Knot".
He stated that today's events cannot be compared to the historical tragedies of 1877-1878 and the deportation of 1944, and provocations against Meskhetian Turks are unacceptable. Koch emphasized the importance of maintaining peace, brotherhood, and the culture of coexistence in Akhaltsikhe, stressing that the Republic of Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stand by Meskhetian Turks.