The Public Ombudsman of Georgia addresses the footage circulated by public sources on the generation of violence committed by law enforcers against citizens and condemns all kinds of unlawful actions by the police, especially the facts of improper treatment.
In addition, due to increased public interest, the Public Ombudsman of Georgia wants to provide the public with brief information about the main findings and recommendations in terms of police treatment in the 2025 Parliamentary Report, which is based on the activities carried out by the Special Preventive Group. In 2025, the Special Preventive Team will make 79 monitoring visits to police facilities and detention centers, speaking to prisoners and convicts in prison, as well as attorneys, and obtain and analyze a variety of important data.
As a result of monitoring, a special preventive team annually receives information from police violence against detainees, both during and after arrest, in police cars and administrative buildings. There has also been a trend that in cases identified from a study of medical documentation produced in temporary detention isolators, about half of those in administrative custody indicate being injured immediately during and/or after arrest.
The Public Ombudsman reiterates that torture and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment cannot be prevented without effective guarantees of fighting impunity and protection against inappropriate treatment. Unfortunately, the recommendations made in this angle have been unfulfilled for years.
Patrol inspectors and criminal police officers are still not obliged to make videos while interacting with citizens. There is also no obligation to record the presence of detainees in police cars and to record the audio-video of the interrogation process. The number of cameras in police authorities and departments has not increased significantly, and there are no cameras at all in individual authorities.
In 2025, the illegal practice of factually arresting persons without formal procedures will be manifested. In addition, the report cited issues with informing detainees of their rights and having access to lawyers, as well as documentation production, including police use of force.
The Georgian Public Ombudsman calls on the relevant state authorities to immediately take action steps to implement the recommendations in the parliamentary report.
