Georgian Journalist Illegally Arrested in Great Britain

Eka Gulua, a journalist for the Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre, was placed under arrest by British police for almost four hours. Scotland Yard violated her rights to a translator, a lawyer and a phone call - they did not even give her a glass of water. When the police found out that Gulua was not a criminal, they released her, however they did not apologize and moreover made her sign unidentified documents. 

The incident started when the journalist was invited to London by ‘Reuters’ news agency. On Saturday, September 17, Gulua went walking in the city with her Ukrainian colleague. The arrest took place later that same day.

“I went to one of the shopping centers with my Ukrainian colleague,” recalls the journalist, “I was browsing in one of the shops, took a brush and mirror and then went to the perfume section. Suddenly, the guards called me over, saying that I had not paid for the goods and that the police would now have to look at my case.

I was confused and said that was going to pay after I had chosen everything I wanted. The guard told me that I had to pay for each thing in the relevant section and made a phone call. He asked me where I was from. When I said that I was a Georgian, he smiled ironically and said: “Now everything is clear - you are a Georgian criminal and the police will take care of you”.

I tried to explain to him, that I was not a criminal, but a journalist and that I was working for Reuters. He told me, that I could tell it to the police.

After an hour or so, the police came. They asked for my passport; however I had left it in the hotel. They thought that I was an illegal immigrant. They took me to the police station.

For more than four hours I was standing in reception, waiting to see what they could find out. They refused to give me a translator, a lawyer and even denied me my right to make a phone call. They asked me, if I had been arrested before - I told them of course not. My answer apparently surprised them.

After inputting my personal information into the computer, they then believed that I was not a criminal and gave me the right to make a phone call. I called a friend of mine, lawyer Shalva Alaverdashvili, who came to the police department within the hour. When he told the police officers that he was a lawyer, the whole situation changed completely. The police officers became very friendly.

Finally, they offered me two possibilities - one of them was to wait for a court hearing, which would have taken from three to six months (I would have had to stay in Britain for the whole period until it was over), or I could sign some documents, saying that everything that had happened was my fault. All I wanted was to get out of that police station, so I signed the documents.”

After being released, Gulua consulted local lawyers. They explained to her that the police had violated her human rights and that she had been arrested illegally. Eka Gulua also met with diplomats from the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who were concerned about her case.

Irakli Asashvili, the Georgian Consul to Great Britain was shocked at hearing Gulua’s story.

“She should have immediately contacted me,” Asashvili said, “The police did not have any right to stop her from making a phone call. When Georgian citizens are arrested, information about it comes in to the Consulate on the same day. I have not received any information about Gulua. I will definitely find out why they treat Georgian citizens like this”.

The British newspaper ‘The Sun’ also became interested in the case and plans to conduct a journalistic investigation. According to The Sun, since the terrorist attacks took place, the British police have been treating immigrants inhumanly and often violate their rights.

Eka Gulua hopes that the British police will at least apologize. “This was a mistake that happens quite often,” says the journalist, “If I knew the British legislation, I could have resisted them and they would have been powerless. However, they took advantage of my vulnerable situation and I was oppressed. Everyone called me a Georgian criminal in the police department and they were laughing at me. They should apologize for all of this!”

Eka Gulua