More Torture Facts Observed in Georgian Custodies

Mariam Imerlishvili

“I want to declare in advance – I am a religious person and I am not going to commit suicide. If I am found dead in the custody, be sure I am killed,” the letter of a prisoner started with the sentence; he was one of the victims of torture and inhuman treatment in Georgian penitentiary settings.

It is not strange for human rights defenders that situation in Georgian prisons is extremely unbearable. The situation is getting worse and it might lead us to egregious results.

On June 6 a public discussion was held in the office of the Foundation Open Society – Georgia; the purpose of the discussion was to inform society about torture and inhuman treatment facts. The discussion was held in the framework of the Media-Center with financial support of the Foundation National Endowment for Democracy.

The meeting was organized by the Human Rights Center, Georgian Centre for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims, Article 42 of the Constitution and Union “Sapari”.

The invited guests, who represented the member organizations of the Human Rights House Tbilisi, made statements about inhuman treatment of detainees in prisons, as well as about strategic litigation and impunity syndrome in the penitentiary settings.

Natia Imnadze from the Public Defender’s Office said many facts of inhuman treatment both in pretrial detention settings and in jail hospitals were observed. She recalled several facts out of many cases when inmates subjected to particularly ruthless torture.

“Serious incident occurred in 2010 in the Geguti Prison # 14 where prisoners started hunger-strike after the death of a prisoner. As a result, riot police compelled the hunger-strikers to eat food; those who resisted them were beaten and taken to custodies in the Eastern Georgia. In 2009, either police officers or prison personnel beat Ushangi Gordeladze. It was torture and the prisoner died of skull trauma.”

The discussion participants paid attention to the usage of excessive force by riot police officers against demonstrators on May 26. Giorgi Gotsiridze from the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) spoke about it at the discussion. “There are no standards in Georgia that could regulate the distance for shooting the rubber bullet. According to Jewish standard rubber bullet can be shot from no less than 40 meters. On May 26, the rubber bullets were shot from 5-6 meter distance. One demonstrator Beso Tabatadze lost eyesight after he was shot from the short distance in the eye.”

The lawyer from GYLA also drew attention to the journalists who became victims of violence. The human rights defenders request reimbursement of damage of media representatives from the government.

Lawyer Nino Andriashvili from the Human Rights Center recalled the facts which were committed with particular cruelty. “In 2009, a prisoner of Tbilisi Prison # 8 got pains in genitals as a result of incorrect treatment; consequently, his genitals were amputated without informing the patient about it. In Kutaisi Prison # 2 a convicted got bounded to the wheelchair as a result of the physical assault.”

Audience also took part in the discussion; they spoke about the results of inhuman treatment on an individual and the society in general. They spoke about human psychic who tortures another person and does not feel ashamed for similar action.

Director General of the GCRT Lela Tsiskarishvili clarified: “Torturers mostly are those people who did not have emotionally rich and full childhood; they grew up in the family of a violator or without family at all.”

The discussion was very useful and interesting. The society shall have information about inhuman facts which occur in Georgia.