Georgia’s national preventive mechanism against torture, inhumane treatment marks 10th anniversary
The Georgian Public Defender’s Office carries out the functions of a national preventative mechanism against torture, inhumane treatment in closed facilities. Photo: Amnesty International.
Tweet 
Share
Georgia’s national preventive mechanism, which aims to prevent torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in closed facilities [prisons, psychiatric facilities], is marking its 10th anniversary this year.
In 2009 the Georgian Public Defender’s Office was granted the mandate of the national preventive mechanism, by which the institute joined the global system of prevention of torture.
Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria stated at an international conference dedicated to the date earlier today that the prevention of torture “is not a separate issue, a range of state institutions are involved and should be involved in it.”
Prevention of torture can be ensured though effective investigation, quality justice system and rule of law,” Lomjaria said.
Lomjaria stated that the major challenge for the mechanism is “the lack of necessary funds, but the issue has never influenced the impartiality of the mechanism.”
The event has been marked at the Palace of State Ceremonies in Tbilisi. Photo: Public Defender's press office.
Deputy Justice Minister Gocha Lortkipanidze stated at the conference that “much has been done under the Georgian Dream leadership” to prevent torture and inhumane treatment.
Starting from 2012 one of the major goals of the Georgian Dream leadership has been to take effective steps against torture and inhumane treatment. We have achieved big success in this regard which is recognised in many local and international reports,” Lortkipanidze said.
He stated that after the merger of the ministries of justice and corrections back in 2017 a “new wave of reforms” has been launched to bring the Georgian justice system into full compliance with international standards.
- A special preventive group under the Public Defender’s Office regularly monitors the conditions and treatment of detainees and prisoners or persons whose liberty is otherwise restricted, convicts, as well as persons in mental health facilities, elderly care homes and children’s homes in order to protect them from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Local and international organisations, members of state agencies attended the event held at the Palace of State Ceremonies [former presidential palace in Avlabari] earlier today to mark the 10th anniversary.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has released its verdict regarding two cases involving Georgian citizens and ruled that their rights had been violated under the United National Movement leadership.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has delivered a verdict in the case of Goguadze v. Georgia, which reads that the man was tortured and abused under the United National Movement government back in 2011 and the state must pay €10,000 in compensation.
Georgian prisoners were tortured and treated inhumanely under the former leadership, state results of a survey of almost 2,000 current and former prisoners.
Georgia's prisons used to be dirty and dangerous. Prisoners recounted beatings and NGOs reported institutionalised torture. But since 2012, there has been an amazing turnaround, writes Mairi Mackay for Open Democracy.
The European Court of Human Rights 2019 statistics read that for Georgia, an unprecedented, 1,390 applications were declared inadmissible or struck out in the last year, compared to 141 in 2018 and 232 in 2017. Applications are declared inadmissible when they do not meet all the admissible criteria of the court and are dismissed without being examined, while applications are truck out when an applicant does not reply to the court’s requests in a mandatory time, after the application was assigned to judicial formation.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Georgia must pay 25,000 euros to Tbilisi resident Mariam Sakvarelidze, 71, whose son and sister died in 2003, during Rose Revolution protests in Georgia when an armoured military vehicle hit their car in the capital city on November 22, 2003, a day before the culmination of the 20-day protests.
Public Defender Nino Lomjaria has released a report on the rights of Tbilisi Mental Health Centre patients, which reads that poor sanitary-hygienic conditions, old infrastructure, violence between patients and overcrowding are identified as the main problems of the centre.