US Department of State Report Mentions Georgia

2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released by the US Department of State reads includes Georgia too, and it reads that “while the constitution and law prohibit torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment there were reports that government officials employed them.”

The document reads that in May 2017 report to parliament the Public Defender’s Office (PDO) of Georgia stated that effectively combating torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment remained “one of the most important challenges of the country.”

“The PDO reported it asked the Office of the Chief Prosecutor to investigate 72 allegations of such mistreatment by police officers and prison staff between 2013- 17; of these, the prosecutor’s office did not identify any perpetrators according to the PDO. The PDO reported an increase in the number of cases of mistreatment by police it referred to the CPO in 2017 and an increase in 2017 in the rate of injuries sustained by individuals admitted to temporary detention facilities and during or after administrative arrests,” the report reads.

The US Department of State says the Public Defender’s Office continued to consider the existing system of investigation into alleged torture and other mistreatments by law enforcement officials neither effective nor independent.

The report also underlines that the government took steps to investigate some allegations of human rights abuses, but it says the shortcomings still remained.

By Thea Morrison