16,820 charged in Georgia in 2018, Georgian Prosecutor’s Office says
The annual report of the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office is 47 pages long. Photo: Chief Prosecutor’s press office.
Tweet 
Share
16,820 individuals were charged in Georgia in 2018, which is a 6.5 per cent increase compared to 2017, the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office says in its annual report presented in parliament.
The office says that the three most common crimes were: robbery, family violence and drug crimes.
- Robbery - 4,023 individuals were charged last year.
- Family violence – 2,720.
- Drug crimes – 1,625.
The Prosecutor’s Office says that 1,625 others were charged with violence.
220 acting or former state servants were charged last year, 117 were acting and 43 former, the report reads.
The office says that 49 were charged with crimes related to ‘criminal mentality and criminal bosses’ last year.
The Prosecutor’s Office reports that 11 were charged with and found guilty for their connection with the terrorist organisation Islamic State between 2015 and 2016, while the figure decreased to three in 2017-2018.
Head of Georgia’s State Security Service Vakhtang Gomelauri has reported to parliament today, stating that the number of supporters and the influence of the terrorist Islamic State has “significantly” decreased in Georgia.
A law drafted by the Georgian Interior Ministry has come into force today which makes the punishment for certain forms of domestic violence more severe. The law also reads that should a restraining order be violated, an individual will face criminal charges.
Abusing a family member will become punishable by two years in prison instead of the current one year.The punishment will be more severe if the act of violence is committed in the presence of a minor.
The Georgian Interior Ministry has stated that the list of crimes in the criminal code related to so-called criminal bosses and their activities has expanded.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia says that people phone police for family violence cases more frequently than in previous years. The Deputy Interior Minister of Georgia Natia Mezvrishvili said that several police officers have been dismissed for committing domestic violence.
The Georgia Parliament has approved a bill proposed by the Interior Ministry which makes both passive and active participation in street disputes a criminal offence, punishable by up to two years in prison.
Public opinion of the Prosecutor’s Office in Georgia tends towards trust, says the latest survey published by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), which shows that about half the public (57%) trusts the Prosecutor’s Office, 26 per cent does not, and 17 per cent report they ‘don’t know’.
The son of the ruling Georgian Dream party MP Koba Kobaladze has been charged with violence for attacking a man on June 24 in Tbilisi, with five other individuals.