Categories
Journalistic Survey
Articles
Reportage
Analitic
Photo Reportage
Exclusive
Interview
Foreign Media about Georgia
Editorial
Position
Reader's opinion
Blog
Themes
Children's Rights
Women's Rights
Justice
Refugees/IDPs
Minorities
Media
Army
Health
Corruption
Elections
Education
Penitentiary
Religion
Others

The Human Rights Center Requests Investigation in Prisoners’ Torture

September 6, 2011

Mariam Imerlishvili

On September 5, press-conference about torture and inhuman treatment of prisoners was held in the office of the Human Rights Center. Executive director of the Center Ucha Nanuashvili and head of the Center’s Legal Clinic Nino Nadriashvili underlined the problems of the convicted Rudik Ovakimyan.

Rudik Ovakimyan has been in prison since 2005. 11-year-imprisonment was imposed on him for drug-dealing. Due to negligence of the administration of the Rustavi prison # 17, he got sick with tuberculosis and now suffers from severe form of the disease. Currently, his health conditions are very poor.

Lawyer Nino Andriashvili said her client is under permanent oppression. Doctors do not pay attention to him; he is not treated properly and consequently his health conditions worsened. The conditions in the Tbilisi jail hospital are not adequate for patients with tuberculosis.

“Administration of the jail hospital treated Ovakimyan very badly. They did not allow him to send letter, to buy something in the shop, to call by phone or take a bath. Head of security service of the hospital Giorgi Avsanjishvili threatened him: “If you do not stop filing complaints against us, you will be taken directly to the morgue from here.” The patient could not even walk in the fresh air. He wrote explanation letter for me, but the administration did not allow me to take it out; it was incredible fact for me. They tried to intimidate me and my client. Ovakimyan was compelled to injury himself. In the hospital, the convicted received psychological, moral and physical traumas,” said Nino Andriashvili.

“It is harsh reality of Georgian custodies. The situation is very difficult and I call upon corresponding institutions to take all necessary measures to eradicate similar facts in penitentiary institutions,” said Ucha Nanuashvili.

The Public Defender’s Office is also monitoring the case of Ovakimyan together with the Human Rights Center. The lawyer said she had petitioned to the penitentiary department, security department and chief prosecutor’s office but no responses from them yet.

After the www.humanrights.ge wrote about Ovakimyan’s problem and announced about the press-conference, the prisoner was taken to Ksani prison where hospital for prisoners with tuberculosis is working. The lawyer hopes Ovakimyan will be adequately treated in Ksani prison.

Nino Andriashvili spoke about similar cases during the press-conference and called upon corresponding institutions to investigate torture facts in custodies and punish those guilty in degrading treatment of prisoners. She said three serious problems are mostly urgent in Georgian penitentiary system which aggravates the health conditions of inmates: 1) lack of qualification of medical personnel who cannot even correctly diagnose the illness; 2) negligence and indifference of prison personnel towards prisoners’ fate, 3) illegal punishment of prisoners by not taking them to hospitals.

News