Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance & Other Ill Treatment In the early years of the 21st Century, 2000 to
2025 gvnet.com/torture/Georgia.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Georgia. Some of these links may lead to websites
that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No
attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspects of Torture by Authorities are of
particular interest to you. You might
be interested in exploring the moral justification for inflicting pain or
inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment in order to obtain critical
information that may save countless lives, or to elicit a confession for a
criminal act, or to punish someone to teach him a lesson outside of the
courtroom. Perhaps your paper might
focus on some of the methods of torture, like fear, extreme temperatures,
starvation, thirst, sleep deprivation, suffocation, or immersion in freezing
water. On the other hand, you might
choose to write about the people acting in an official capacity who
perpetrate such cruelty. There is a
lot to the subject of Torture by Authorities.
Scan other countries as well as this one. Draw comparisons between activity in
adjacent countries and/or regions.
Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper
resources that are available on-line. ***
ARCHIVES *** Council of Europe
anti-torture Committee publishes its report on the ad hoc visit to Georgia European Committee
for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment CPT, Strasbourg, 16 June 2022 [accessed 19 June
2022] [accessed 19 June
2022] 12. The delegation
was also concerned to observe obvious signs of the presence of informal
prisoner hierarchy, such as typical symbols (in particular, the “Vorovskoy Mir/Thieves World” eight-pointed stars and
snarling wolves also known as “Oskals”) visibly
placed above cell doors and on cell walls (especially at Prison No. 17). Further, in all
prisons (but again mostly in Rustavi followed by Ksani,
the least so in Geguti) there was a clear disparity
in conditions between the cells: whilst most of the prisoners had to live in
cramped and rather dilapidated accommodation,15 some of the inmates
(presumably those occupying higher ranks in prisoner hierarchy) enjoyed
relatively comfortable conditions, with more living space,16 refurbished
cells (with parquet or tiled floors) and a lot of non-standard equipment
(large TV sets, DVDs, hi-fi towers, air conditioning units, kitchen corners,
etc.). Last but not least,
a number of inmates confirmed to the delegation the existence of the
hierarchy and the collection (or rather extortion) of money (from prisoners
but more often their families) for the illegal prisoners’ fund (“obshchak”).17 13. The combination
of the above-mentioned factors resulted in a high risk of inter-prisoner
violence, intimidation and extortion. Several prisoners
with whom the delegation spoke referred to verbal insults and threats (of
physical violence and/or death vis-à-vis themselves and their families) from
fellow inmates in the three prisons visited, usually in the context of the
prisoner’s incapacity (for lack of money or any relatives capable of paying
instead of him) or – rarely – unwillingness to contribute to the “obshchak”. Council of Europe
anti-torture Committee publishes report on Georgia Executive Summary,
10 May 2019 [accessed 1 June
2020] The issue of
gravest concern to the CPT was a tendency, observed in several of the prisons
visited (especially in Prisons Nos. 3, 6 and 8) to make frequent use of
so-called “de-escalation rooms”, for up to
72 hours, as defacto
punishment. The CPT expressed the view that “de-escalation rooms” should only
be used to place, for as short a time as possible (preferably just a few
hours), prisoners who are agitated
and/or aggressive, and
the whole procedure
should be under
the authority of
the doctor, not the
custodial staff. Any prisoner who remains agitated after
several hours must be clinically assessed and, if necessary, transferred to a
mental health establishment. Further, the CPT considered that
prisoners who are
not mentally disturbed
and who violate
internal regulations should be
dealt with using formal disciplinary provisions. The CPT’s
delegation spoke with many persons who were or had recently been in police
custody, and received hardly any allegations of ill-treatment by police
officers. As previously, no allegations were heard regarding the staff
working in temporary detention isolators (TDIs). Furthermore, none of the
very few allegations heard could be considered credible, backed by medical
evidence and/or referring to recent past. Overall, the
CPT received a
very positive impression
of the sustained efforts of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs aimed at combating police ill-treatment. Psychiatric
establishments -- Although at Surami
Psychiatric Hospital the delegation
received no allegations
of recent physical ill-treatment of
patients, it noted
that there had
been several instances
of serious physical
ill-treatment (including striking
patients with sticks)
in the recent
past, the staff
directly involved no longer
being employed at
the establishment. The clear determination of the
hospital’s current management
to prevent any such ill-treatment in the future was highlighted positively. Georgia
indicts two South Ossetian officials for Tatunashvili’s torture and murder Democracy &
Freedom Watch DFWATCH, Tbilisi, 15 Jun 2018 dfwatch.net/georgia-indicts-two-south-ossetian-officials-tatunashvilis-torture-murder-50565 [accessed 17 June
2018] The Georgian
Prosecutor’s Office has indicted two South Ossetian
officials for involvement in the abduction and torture of a Georgian former
soldier in Akhalgori, an enclave under control of
the breakaway region. Davit Gurtsiev, the head of de facto security body in Akhalgori, and Alik Taboev, deputy de facto prosecutor in the same district,
were indicted in absentia for abducting and aiding in the torture of Archil Tatunashvili, a former
soldier and veteran of the multinational forces in Iraq. “In the building of
the so call Prosecutor Office the Law enforcement officers of Occupied
Tskhinvali region, tortured Archil Tatunashvili for participation in the August war in 2008,
they inflicted to him more than 100 different types of injuries. Later Archil Tatunashvili passed
away,” the statement reads. 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Georgia U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/georgia/
[accessed 21 July
2021] TORTURE AND OTHER
CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT As of December the
Public Defender’s Office asked the State Inspector’s Service to investigate
40 alleged cases of human rights violations in government institutions, 19 of
which concerned violations allegedly committed by Internal Affairs Ministry
personnel, 18 involved alleged crimes committed by penitentiary department
staff, and one allegedly involved Justice Ministry staff. In two of the 40
requests, the responsible agency was not clear. The State Inspector’s Service
opened investigations into 256 cases. Eleven investigations were in response
to the Public Defenders Office’s request. The State Inspector’s Service
directed five investigations to other investigative agencies and did not
identify elements of a crime in four cases. An investigation of one case
continued at year’s end. PRISON AND DETENTION
CENTER CONDITIONS While overall
prison and detention facility conditions were adequate, conditions in some
older facilities lacked sufficient ventilation, natural light, minimum living
space, and adequate health care. Prison conditions in Russian-occupied
Abkhazia and South Ossetia were reported to be chronically substandard. ARREST PROCEDURES
AND TREATMENT OF DETAINEES Concerns persisted
regarding authorities’ use of administrative detention to detain individuals
for up to 15 days without the right to an effective defense, defined
standards of proof, and the right to a meaningful appeal. Freedom House
Country Report 2018 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/georgia/freedom-world/2018 [accessed 12 May
2020] F3. IS THERE PROTECTION FROM THE ILLEGITIMATE USE
OF PHYSICAL FORCE AND FREEDOM FROM WAR AND INSURGENCIES? Human rights
watchdogs and the ombudsman continued to express concern about the abuse of
detainees by police, with the ombudsman reporting a recent increase in the
number of arrestees who arrive at detention facilities with injuries that may
be attributable to police abuse. Violence in prisons remains a problem. Human
Rights Watch World Report 2015 - Events of 2014 Human Rights Watch,
29 January 2015 www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/...
or
www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/wr2015_web.pdf [accessed 18 March
2015] GEORGIA TORTURE,
ILL-TREATMENT, AND PRISON CONDITIONS - Lack of accountability for law enforcement
officials remained a problem, as Georgia does not have an independent
effective mechanism for investigating crimes committed by law enforcements
officials. Additional Torture
Charges Filed Against Former Interior Ministry Official Civil Georgia, Tbilisi, 9 Jan 2014 www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=26850 [accessed 10 Jan
2014] [accessed 2 January
2019] According to prosecutor’s
office, in early hours of April 5 “beaten and tortured” Kobalia was
transferred from Zugdidi to Tbilisi and placed at first in the Interior
Ministry’s detention facility and then in prison No.8 in Gldani. Prosecutor’s
office said that for six days Kobalia was in a holding cell of the prison,
where normally inmates can be held only for few hours. On April 11, 2011,
according to prosecutor’s office, Kobalia was again beaten and tutored,
including with electric shock, “for hours” by Kardava and then deputy head of
the penitentiary department Gaga Mkurnalidze; the latter is now serving a
prison term after he was found guilty in a separate case of prisoners’ abuse.
Additional charges were also filed against Mkurnalidze in connection to
Kobalia’s case. Prosecutor’s office said that Kobalia died in prison later on
the same day, April 11, 2011. Two other inmates
of the same prison, Merab Kolbaia and Koba Matkava, were also tortured
together with Kobalia on April 11 as Megis Kardava was demanding from them
too to confess in terrorism, prosecutor’s office said. 23rd General Report
of the CPT - European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment - 1 August 2012 - 31 July 2013 [PDF] Council of Europe, Strasbourg, 6 November 2013 www.west-info.eu/files/Council-of-Europe-23rd-General-Report-of-the-CPT-20131.pdf [accessed 7 Nov
2013] 46. In contrast
with planned or already implemented measures concerning the prison population
and estate, the delegation observed that there had been little, if any,
progress towards introducing programmes of out-of-cell activities for
prisoners. In the two prisons visited, prisoners – both those on remand and
sentenced – were locked up in their cells for most of the day, in a state of
enforced idleness. The CPT once again calls upon the Georgian authorities to
take decisive steps to develop the programmes of activities for both
sentenced and remand prisoners, with the aim of ensuring that inmates are
able to spend a reasonable part of the day (8 hours or more) outside their
cells, engaged in purposeful activities of a varied nature. Torture Videos
Shown to Media, Civil Society Representatives Civil Georgia, Tbilisi, 20 June 2013 www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=26196 [accessed 21 June
2013] old.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=26202 [accessed 2 January 2019] The Interior
Ministry hosted on June 20 in its headquarters a large group of media and
civil society representatives, also including political analysts and
commentators, to show them videotapes, which the authorities say, were found
in a large arms cache unearthed earlier this week in Samegrelo region,
depicting torture of two detainees by law enforcement officers, which
according to the Interior Ministry, took place in 2011. A day earlier the
videotapes were shown by the Interior Ministry to a group of Tbilisi-based
foreign diplomats. Videotapes, shown
on June 20, contain two separate episodes in which two detainees, whose faces
are concealed on the video, are raped and tortured; in one episode law
enforcement officers are purportedly trying to obtain confession from the
detainee in connection to an alleged terrorism case. Sound was muted on the
videos, which have English subtitles. The Interior
Ministry said on June 19 that several persons, among them three acting and
one former law enforcement officers and the man accused of sexually abusing
two detainees, were arrested in connection to scenes shown on the videotapes. Sixteen convicted
of prisoner torture in Georgia Rusiko Machaidze, Democracy & Freedom Watch,
Tbilisi, 16 June 2013 dfwatch.net/sixteen-convicted-of-prisoner-torture-in-georgia-48752 [accessed 16 June
2013] A court in Tbilisi
determined sixteen persons as guilty of torture of prisoners, humiliation and
mistreatment, but recognized Vladmier Bedukadze, the person who released the
video footage documenting it, as innocent. He was freed from
criminal responsibility on the grounds of mediation by the prosecutor. By the decision of
the court he is also released from the status of conviction and he will be
returned back the USD 1 200 bail on which he was released until trial. The trial was
closed in order to protect the privacy of those concerned. In late September 2012,
footage of prisoner torture was shown in the media, and even though human
rights activists and the ombudsman had been reporting about such facts for
years, only after releasing the footage was there any reaction. It was
followed by a scandal and the first consequence was the resignation of the
interior and prison minister. Thousands of people
demonstrated for weeks to support the prisoners and it also had an influence
on the results of the parliamentary election on October 1, when President
Mikheil Saakashvili’s party was defeated. Ex minister given
further charges of torture Democracy &
Freedom Watch DFWatch staff, 3 March 2013 dfwatch.net/ex-minister-given-further-charges-of-torture-35635 [accessed 3 March
2013] dfwatch.net/ex-minister-given-further-charges-of-torture-35635-18406 [accessed 25 July
2017] According to this
new charge, Akhalaia as interior minister in August 2012 learned that Teimuraz
Palavandishvili, Zaza Pantskalashvili, Mamuka Zhvania, Davit Bagratishvili,
Mikheil Edisherashvili, Samvel Bazoiani and Arsen Mkrtumiani, employees of
the Interior Ministry, were dissatisfied with Saakashvili’s government and
supported the opposition coalition Georgian Dream. He and Davit Vekua,
chairman of the first department of the ministry, verbally and physically
abused them. Afterward, they were taken to an education center for special
operations and there they were beaten for few days, because they supported
Bidzina Ivanishvili and his political alliance. According to the
Prosecutor’s Office, the crime is made worse by the fact that Akhalaia had
ordered those persons fired, so that at the time when they were tortured,
they were ordinary citizens, not ministry employees. Former sergeants whose
contracts with the defense ministry were no longer in force participated in
the torture. They were also ordinary citizens at the time and it was illegal
to bring them to the education center. “These persons were
tortured, humiliated and mistreated at the Iaghluja training base from August
19 to September 21, 2012. During this period, Davit Vekua a few times visited
the education center and beat all of them, humiliated and put them in
dishonored conditions,” the Prosecutor’s Office statement reads. A few days earlier,
before leaving the base, all seven were warned not to say anything, but lie
that they were injured during training. If they told what had happened, their
families would be terrorized, they were threatened. Conclusions and
recommendations of the Committee against Torture U.N. Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment -- Doc. CAT/C/GEO/CO/3
(2006) www1.umn.edu/humanrts/cat/observations/georgia2006.html [accessed 27
February 2013] C. Subjects of concern and recommendations 9. The Committee remains
concerned that despite extensive legislative reforms, impunity and
intimidation still persist in the State party, in particular in relation to
the use of excessive force, including torture and other forms of
ill-treatment by law-enforcement officials, especially prior to and during
arrest, during prison riots and in the fight against organized crime (art.
2). The State party
should give higher priority to efforts to promote a culture of human rights
by ensuring that a policy of zero tolerance is developed and implemented at
all levels of the police-force hierarchy as well as for all staff in
penitentiary establishments. Such a
policy should identify and address the problems, and should elaborate a code
of conduct for all officials, including those involved in the fight against
organized crime, as well as introduce regular monitoring by an independent
oversight body. 12. The Committee
is also concerned about the relatively low number of convictions and
disciplinary measures imposed on law-enforcement officials in the light of
numerous allegations of torture and other acts of cruel and inhuman or
degrading treatment, as well as the lack of public information about such
cases (art. 4). The State party should
strengthen its investigative capacity, including that of the
Prosecutor-General’s office, in order to promptly and thoroughly examine all
allegations of torture and ill-treatment and to ensure that statistics on
convictions and disciplinary measures be regularly published and made
available to the public. 17. The Committee
is particularly concerned about the high number of sudden deaths of persons
in custody and the absence of detailed information on the causes of death in
each case. The Committee is also
concerned about the high number of deaths reported from tuberculosis (arts. 6
and 12). The State party
should provide detailed information on the causes and circumstances of all
sudden deaths that have occurred in places of detention, as well as information
in respect of independent investigations in this connection. The Committee further encourages the State
party to continue its cooperation with the International Committee of the Red
Cross and non-governmental organizations with regard to the implementation of
programmes related to the treatment of tuberculosis and distribution and
monitoring of the medicines taken in penitentiary facilities throughout its
territory. Investigate
Sexual Abuse in Prison Human Rights Watch,
Berlin, September 19, 2012 www.hrw.org/news/2012/09/19/georgia-investigate-sexual-abuse-prison [accessed 28 January
2013] Graphic Video
Material Points to Need for Accountability Georgia’s human
rights ombudsman has often referred to Gldani Prison No. 8 as one of
Georgia’s most problematic prison facilities. In a 2010 report, the European
Committee for the Prevention of Torture said that former inmates of the
Gldani prison alleged that staff had punched, kicked, and struck them with
truncheons during the intake process and as punishment for such actions as
talking loudly or attempting to communicate with prisoners from other cells.
The report also said it found “an uncommon silence” by prisoners the
committee met in the prison. Search … AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL For current
articles:: Search Amnesty
International Website www.amnesty.org/en/search/?q=georgia+torture&ref=&year=&lang=en&adv=1&sort=relevance [accessed 2 January 1, 2019] Scroll
Down ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, March 8, 2006 www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61649.htm [accessed 28 January
2013] 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61649.htm [accessed 4 July
2019] TORTURE
AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT – The law
prohibits such practices, although they occurred. NGOs reported law
enforcement officers continued to beat, torture, and otherwise abuse detainees
during the year. According to information released by the Ministry of Justice
(MOJ), in the first 6 months of the year, 23 percent of convicts had
undergone physical violence at the hands of law enforcement officials, a 3
percent rise in comparison to the same period in 2004. Over a 10-day period
in January, monitoring in pretrial detention facilities by the ombudsman's
council confirmed that police violence against detainees was at a very high
level; the council reported 15 cases of police physically abusing detainees
in that period. In December 2004
the government created a monitoring council under the MOIA to visit detention
facilities under the ministry's jurisdiction; members were NGO volunteers who
work on torture chosen by the ombudsman's office. To address concerns about
abuse in pretrial detention facilities, in April, the MOIA's Human Rights
Protection and Monitoring Division was given oversight over all 67 pretrial
detention facilities, and authorities created a new registration process for
detainees brought to pretrial detention facilities. The registration process
required that any indication of physical abuse be noted pursuant to a
mandatory physical exam upon the detainee's arrival. Medical exams were also
required, and any signs of abuse noted, anytime a detainee was moved to and
from facilities. The MOIA's monitoring division was required to investigate
all abuse cases. According to the head of the monitoring division, police
were not permitted to enter pretrial detention facilities unless they
obtained permission from him. Detainees were
reportedly tortured or abused in cars while being taken to a place of
detention, in police stations, and in the MOIA. One detainee alleged he was
abused during a remand hearing. There were also allegations that several
people were attacked on the street by plainclothes security service agents or
taken to unpopulated places such as cemeteries or forests and abused. During the year
there were several cases of police officers brought to trial, dismissed, or
demoted for abuses; however, impunity remained a problem, particularly in
outlying regions (see section 1.d.). NGOs claimed that close ties between the
prosecutor general's office and the police hindered their ability to
substantiate police misconduct, and believed the continuing lack of
professionalism and independence of the judiciary made it unresponsive to
torture allegations. As a result, despite positive reforms, NGOs claimed law
enforcement officials could still resort to torture or ill treatment with
limited risk of exposure or punishment. NGOs also believed a lack of adequate
training for law enforcement, as well as low public awareness of the new
protections afforded citizens, impeded improvements. There were still
significant obstacles to bringing all cases of torture and ill treatment to
light. NGOs reported victims often did not report abuse, fearing police
retribution against them or their families. According to AI, the ombudsman's
office was aware of several cases of apparent abuse, but detainees--who had
visible injuries--later refused to report abuse or withdrew their earlier
complaint. In May representatives from the ombudsman's monitoring group were
present when an individual arrived at a pretrial detention facility with
injuries. The representatives interviewed him, made a record of his injuries,
and forwarded the case to the general prosecutor's office for investigation.
According to his lawyer, the man then refused to cooperate in the investigation,
fearing there would be retaliation against his family. No charges were
brought against suspects in the investigation into allegations that police
subjected Irakli Tushishvili
to electric shock in MOIA custody. Tushishvili was
reportedly released in 2003. Freedom House
Country Report - Political Rights: 4 Civil Liberties: 4 Status: Partly Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/georgia [accessed 28 January
2013] LONG URL
ç 2009 Country Reports begin on Page 21 [accessed 12 May
2020] The police force
has improved its performance since the government dismissed half of its
personnel in 2004 as part of an anticorruption overhaul. Among other results,
the reforms led to a virtual eradication of corrupt vehicle stops by police
to extract bribes from motorists—previously a part of daily life and still
prevalent in nearly all other former Soviet republics. However, human rights
ombudsman Sozar Subari
has repeatedly accused the police of abusing and torturing detainees, and
prison conditions in Georgia remain grim. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
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ARTICLES. Cite this
webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance
& Other Ill Treatment in the early years of the 21st Century-
Georgia", http://gvnet.com/torture/Georgia.htm, [accessed <date>] |
