Office of Public Defender Responds to Statement of Qronika Editor

The Public Relations Department of Public Defender responded to the statement of Qronika editor according to which the Public Defender and his representatives are indifferent towards the detained photo reporters and have not visited them.

According to the statement the PR department of Public Defender once again reminds the interested individuals and media means that the representatives of Public Defender visited the detained photographers Irakli Gedenidze, Zurab Kurtsikidze and Giorgi Abdaladze four times – on July 7 and 8th in the Temporary Detention Cell #1 and #8 Penitentiary department on July 9 and 11. The representatives of Public Defender regularly monitor the detention conditions and the health state of the detainees. The monitoring results were reflected in the press releases disseminated by the PR Department of Public Defender. These press releases are also available on the official website of Public Defender: www.ombudsman.ge

According to them, in the statement disseminated on July 11 of 2011 the Public Defender also requested the disclosing of the case.

Particularly the statement said: “Considering the high interest of the society and that the defendants are photo reporters it is important to separate the documents which do not contain the state secret from other documents. It should also be noted that the investigation body disclosed the part of case materials. So if the defense side considers that it is important to disclose some evidence the investigation should precisely evaluate the concrete evidence and then decide the issue.”

Office of Public Defender continues to monitor the health state of the detainees.

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