Ombudsman Responds to the Minor's Suicide

Nino Lomjaria the Public Defender has responded to Luka Siradze’s tragic suicide, offering condolences to the family and relatives of the 15-year-old teenager.

“This case is a tragedy for the whole society, as we once again failed to defend a child’s life,” the Ombudsman wrote on her Facebook page.

“The Public Defender’s Office has started studying the case based on media reports. Within our mandate, we will monitor the process of the ongoing investigation and will also evaluate why the responsible agencies and officials have not made appropriate steps to provide psychosocial support to the child,” Lomjaria said in her post.

Later today, the Ombudsman spoke to the press after having met with the State Inspector. Lomjaria then announced that the environment of the questioning of Luka Siradze was not violence-free; questioning took place allegedly during night hours, which is another violation of the law.

"There are signs of violation of the juvenile justice legislation. The minor was pressured and forced to give testimony. The questioning took place allegedly during night hours and this is another violation of the law. I do not want to go into details, but some circumstances indicate that there was not a violence-free environment during the questioning," said the Public Defender.

Lomjaria thinks that this tragic case is a projection of the problems that the system has and it must become the basis of its improvement.

On December 12, 15-year-old Luka Siradze attempted suicide after being questioned by the police. The minor died at Tbilisi’s Iashvili Children’s Hospital on December 17.

By Nini Dakhundaridze