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The Human Rights Center Finished Project “Legal Aid for Mentally Disabled People in Georgia”

June 24, 2010
The Human Rights Center finished the project “Legal Aid for Mentally Disabled People in Georgia.” The human rights organization provided more than 90 mentally disabled people and their relatives with free legal assistance. The project was funded by ABILIS Foundation and it lasted for 8 months. The advertisement on free legal aid was released by the Public Broadcasting Company during 6 months with the status of social advertisement.

The Human Rights Center appealed to the court on several cases. One appeal was sent to the European Court of Human Rights. In parallel to it, the Center thoroughly monitored the situation in mental hospitals and systematically visited day-time rehabilitation centers.

On June 25, the Human Rights Center will publish the report on its website and will present it to the journalists at the press-conference. According to the report, in 2007, 72 598 people had mental problems in Georgia; among them 1 496 were children. The human rights organization thinks that the figure demonstrates only registered people and more people require medical treatment in fact.

The conditions and situation in the hospitals do not allow the patients and their relatives to agree on similar treatment. Consequently, only the patients with serious mental and social problems stay at hospitals in Georgia. Others apply to alternative sources of treatment. Sometimes they appeal to “magicians” who promise them to liberate sick people from the “sorcery”. Sometimes they do not actually do anything and allow the illness to develop further.

Mentally disabled people are mostly locked in mental hospitals – even when they do not need treatment at hospital. There are many reasons for this tendency. The Human Rights Center will present one case as an example of similar situation. Journalists will be able to interview the people with mental problems.

Human Rights Center, 24, 06, 10 

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