Council of Europe Anti-Torture Committee returns to Georgia

A delegation of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) recently returned to Georgia in order to complete the second periodic visit which had started in November 2003. Given the political situation in November, the CPT's delegation was not in a position to complete its programme. A prolongation of the visit was therefore envisaged in early 2004.

The main purpose of the eight-day prolongation (7 to 14 May 2004) was to examine the treatment of persons detained in Ajara as well as conditions of detention in this part of Georgia. The delegation also returned to Prison No. 5 in Tbilisi in order to review the situation there and interview newly arrived prisoners. Further, the visit provided an opportunity for the CPT's delegation to discuss in detail all its findings with the current Georgian administration.

The visit was carried out by the following members of the CPT: Ingrid Lycke Ellingsen, Head of delegation (Norwegian); Marc NХve, 2nd Vice President of the CPT (Belgian); and Jean-Pierre Restellini (Swiss). They were supported by Petya Nestorova of the CPT's Secretariat.

During the visit, the CPT's delegation held discussions with George Papuashvili, Minister of Justice; Kakha Koberidze, Deputy Prosecutor General; and David Jinjolava, Head of the General Inspection of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The delegation visited the following places: police establishments (Temporary detention isolator of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Batumi; Temporary detention isolator of the City Department of Internal Affairs, Batumi; Sobering-up and administrative detention centre, Batumi; 5th District Division of Internal Affairs, Batumi; 8th District Division of Internal Affairs, Batumi; and Department of Internal Affairs, Keda), penitentiary establishments (Prison No. 3, Batumi; and Prison No. 5, Tbilisi), and Ministry of Security establishments (Temporary detention isolator of the Ministry of Security, Batumi).