Interior Ministry says it met nearly all recommendations of Public Defender
The Interior Ministry says that temporary detention facilities are now better equipped than earlier.Photo: Interior Ministry press office.
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The Georgian Interior Ministry says that it has met nearly all the recommendations made by the Georgian Public Defender to them in 2018.
The ministry says that it:
- Provided medical service in many of its temporary detention facilities. From 29 facilities the medical service is now available in 17. The service will be provided in the remaining detention centers this year.
- 213 police departments and stations around Georgia have been equipped with cameras. 1,188 cameras were added in 2018 and video recording is possible now in all the temporary detention facilities. The video monitoring system were completely renewed in six temporary detention centers last year and the process will continue this year.
- 2,500 modern arm cameras have been purchased for patrol police employees with longer record time and quality.
- A maximal number of the people in temporary detention facilities has been specified, with each detainee must have at least four-square meters of individual space.
- Chkhorotsku, Tsalka, Akhalkalaki, Mtskheta, Poti and Samtredia temporary detention facilities have been renovated.
- Two new such facilities are being built in Tbilisi and Bakuriani.
- A guideline has been made for investigators regarding hate crimes and it is being used by them. [151 people were charged with hate crimes in 2018 which is three times more compared to 2017 date].
- 10,000 police employees have been re-trained in terms of family violence to prevent and timely address such incidents.
- Tougher punishment has been introduced for family violence [femicide incidents were decreased five times in 2018].
- 325 restraint orders were issued in 2018 to protect children.
- A special group of investigators was created in Tbilisi which will investigate sexual crimes committed against children.
- Parliament is now discussing a bill by the ministry which provides tougher punishment for sexual violence against minors.
The ministry makes better statistics regarding the family violence and violence against women.
The Georgian Interior Ministry and OSCE Human Rights Office (ODIHR) have signed a deal to create a training programme for crime investigators that deal with cases involving discrimination.
Monitoring of the investigation of crimes against life and health will be added to the obligations of the department starting from the year, Deputy Interior Minister Natia Mezvrishvili stated today.
The Georgian Interior Ministry has reported today that they have sent a bill which provides tougher punishment for sexual crimes against minors to the government for confirmation.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia has announced it has launched a human rights department in a new move aimed at improving the qualification of law enforcement professionals in dealing with various new challenges in crime.
The Georgian Public Defender has released its 2018 Human Rights Report, covering all the issues and controversial cases related to human rights of the last year.
Social enterprise Anastasia has opened on Kerchi Street, Tbilisi, which will provide female victims of violence with cooking courses. Spanish Chef Manuel will conduct the classes.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) reports that during the first nine months of 2019, 152 individuals were convicted of a sexual offence, 114 of which were against minors.
The Georgian Interior Ministry will open a special division in Tbilisi in April 2020 which will be focused only on minors’ issues, head of the prime minister’s office Natia Mezvrishvili has stated. Mezvrishvili, who previously served as deputy interior minister, said that investigators specialised in minors’ issues will work in the division.She said that the work is underway with the Health Ministry to overcome the challenges related to social workers.