PM vows tough punishment for those involved in minor’s death
Georgian PM has instructed several ministries to present action plans for further protection of minors. Photo: Prime Minister’s press office.
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Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has promised “very tough punishment” for those, ‘no matter their status or rank’, whose guilt will be revealed by the State Inspector’s Office in pushing 15-year-old Luka Siradze to suicide on December 11.
Gakharia has expressed his “deep sorrow” over the death of Siradze, who died in Iashvili Hospital in Tbilisi early yesterday due to severe injuries he received after jumping from the ninth floor of a building.
There must be no question marks around the issue or the transparency of the investigation,” Gakharia said.
Gakharia stated that the government has taken “important steps” in terms of juvenile justice, for major improvements in education and healthcare fields over the past few years.
Civic movement Shame writing the words on walls in Tbilisi which were written on the wall in one of the private schools, for which the minor was summoned for interrogation: 'F**k the life."
However, we still face accumulated problems and challenges. We all, the whole public, are responsible before Luka and his family to reduce the systemic problems accumulated for years to minimum,” Gakharia said.
To address the issue the PM has instructed the:
- Interior Ministry to take all measures to ensure the investigative environment fitted to minors. To ensure the presence of investigators and managers who are qualified to work with minors. To provide the criteria for selection the personnel and carry out their continued retraining and monitoring.
- Health and Education ministries to present a plan on eradication of systemic problems regarding minors in a one week time.
- Justice Ministry to present a bill on additional guarantees for minors who will have to maintain contact with state institutions.
Gakharia stated that the Georgian government will take full responsibility to carry out the reform in a timely manner, transparently and with the support of international partners.
He stated that using the tragedy for political interests is “absolutely unacceptable.”
The Georgian State Inspector’s Office, a newly created independent agency investigating alleged offences committed by law enforcers, has pointed at possible problems at a school, not only at a police station which could have pushed a 15-year-old minor to commit suicide last week. “Situations, which could not have been acceptable or desirable for a child have been revealed at a school. Such situations also took place at a police station,” head of the agency Londa Toloraia told the media.
A female investigator Mariana Choloiani has been detained for placing psychological pressure leading to a suicide attempt of Luka Siradze, 15, who died at M. Iashvili Children’s Central Hospital earlier today.
UNICEF Georgia (United Nations Children's Emergency Fund) has called on the authorities to ensure children’s rights in the juvenile justice system, responding to the suicide attempt of a 15-year-old minor due to alleged psychological pressure at Didube-Chugureti police station last week.
The Georgian Interior Ministry has dismissed allegations by the family of a 15-year-old of allegedly applying psychological pressure at Tbilisi Didube-Chugureti police station last week, which may have led to a suicide attempt by the minor.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has responded to the death of 15-year-old Luka Siradze, who jumped from the ninth floor of a building after being subjected to alleged psychological pressure at Didube police station in Tbilisi, saying that “we must make major changes to avoid such tragedies.”“The death of a 15-year-old boy is a big tragedy for the state. I share the hard moments with the family and wish them to stand strong in this very difficult time,” Zurabishvili wrote.
Didube-Chugureti police district investigator Mariana Choloiani, arrested in connection with the recent suicide of a 15-year-old minor, has been charged today for forcing him to plead guilty, says the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office.
Tbilisi City Court has sent female investigator Mariana Choloiani to detention for exerting pressure on Luka Siradze, 15, who died at M. Iashvili Children’s Central Hospital earlier this week.
State Inspector Londa Toloraia, who is investigating causes behind the death of 15-year-old Luka Siradze, says that investigator Mariana Choloiani, who has been sent to pretrial detention, made threats to the minor that if he had not admitted to the crime his brother would have had problems.
The Georgian State Inspector’s Office has sent the criminal case of prosecutor Mariana Choloiani, who is charged with exercising pressure on a minor to confess, to the court for deliberation.
Prosecutor Mariana Choloiani, who is charged with exercising pressure on a minor last year which allegedly pushed the minor to commit suicide, has been refused bail earlier today.
Several individuals have given false testimony in the suicide case of minor Luka Siradze, Public Defender Nino Lomjaria said earlier today.