Patrol Police Treat People Blatantly and Terror Them in Kakheti

Regarding two years anniversary since establishment the Patrol Police Kakheti Department within Interior Ministry celebrating ceremonies were planned for late September, however because of pre-electoral preparations it was postponed till October. Beforehand social groups have published the results of questioning according to which Kakheti Patrol Police has high rate. Most people say that patrol policemen are polite and fair to everybody; however it is not reality at all. We were assured in it when young policemen initially insulted and then tried to put us into iron.

“On the 8th October this year I was taking my friend’s mother in my car to Tbilisi hospital from Kakheti-says the driver-We took water in Barjiskhevi. Getting into the car, I fastened my safety-belt, and my friend gave water to his mother. When we started the car, the patrol police stopped us and fined us for not having the safety belts fastened. However before fining us they were laughing unreasonably and because of that my friend got out of the car and asked them to fill in the fine form quickly explaining the situation of his mother.  The policeman who despite our demand neither told us his name not defined our rights before fining and said to my friend, “Don’t speak much, go and sit in the car”. My friend got angry with these words and called them for politeness, which resulted into more blatant reaction from the patrol policemen”.  The driver also says that the policemen threatened his friend, saying he was interrupting their work and if he did not leave them alone they would put him into iron and thus he would not be able to accompany his mother to the hospital.  My friend could not endure their blatancy and told them they were abusing their power; these words even more entertained them. The policemen told him in a foal language ‘you won’t do any harm to me’ and thus we parted, as we did not want to aggravate the situation,”-says the driver, whose name we aren’t writing consciously here.

Davit Tabutsadze, Chief of the Interior Ministry Patrol Police Kakheti Department was informed about the fact and asked him to ascertain their identities too; he promised them to do so, but in vain. “At present we demand from the head of the Patrol Police to ascertain the identities of the policemen who signed the fine receipt #118326 and launch a case against them for having insulting us and blatancy, besides that we wonder why the Head of Patrol Police Kakheti Department is indifferent to their policemen’s dishonest behavior and does not respond the appeals of the people”-asks the insulted citizen, who is going to appeal to Interior Ministry’s General Inspection for the situation is obscure yet.

The people from other Kakhetian towns also complain about Patrol. Tamar Kachalishvili stated in conversation with ‘Human Rights Centre’ that policemen did not let her to put up the electoral posters of independent candidate and in the case she did not obey them, they threatened her by detention. “They also insulted us when threatening etc.”-says a person living in Gurjaani.

Davit Tabutsadze, Head of the Patrol Police Kakheti Department denies the accusations against the policemen. He says that similar information is spread by the people who dislike the patrol police. As for the aforementioned event, Tabutsadze promised us to ascertain the identities of those patrol policemen, who insulted us and tried to put us into iron without any reasons, however the head of the Patrol Police did not answer our next telephone calls as a rule.

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti