Public Defender Denied Information about Physical Assault of Prisoners

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi

It was reported that prisoners, brought from Rustavi Prison to Kutaisi Prison N 2, were beaten during transportation; consequently Public Defender of Georgia Giorgi Tughushi visited prisoners in Kutaisi prison and denied the information about their beating. Despite official statement of the public defender, the relatives of the prisoners still worry.

“If a person is placed in this prison, it is guaranteed that he is beaten and has health conditions worsened. Yes, they are beating inmates; but later they warn prisoners not to complain about it and threat them with more problems. So, who will dare to urge the public defender for help? Please, apply to the prison administration and they might let you, journalists, in and you will see what is going on there,” said mother a prisoner.

The Human Rights Center got in touch with the representative of the public defender in the western Georgia Madona Basiladze. She did not wish to make comments on the fact. Nino Eremashvili, spokesperson of the Public Defender’s Office, replied to our question what really was going in Kutaisi prison: “Public Defender said the spread information is not confirmed; the prisoners were not beaten during the transportation. The ombudsman together with the group of 8 people (doctor was among them) visited the Kutaisi Prison N 2. Several prisoners had slight injuries on the body but we do not know the origin of those injuries. One prisoner was placed in the medical office of the prison, who had slight injuries as a result of smashing the window-glass in the punishment cell.”

Spokesperson of the public defender’s office stated that the ombudsman interviewed the prisoners and heard their complaints. Part of inmates complained about bringing them to Kutaisi prison since their families live in Tbilisi and will have to pay extra money to visit them in Kutaisi. Prisoners also complain about the changed imprisonment regime.

“They complain about the regime because they know what conditions they will have in prison. This time I cannot confirm whether prisoners were beaten or not. The only thing I can say is that inmates were taken to Rustavi because prison in Kutaisi was reconstructed. They always dreamt about it because the conditions were horrible here in Kutaisi. Later they called me from Rustavi and said they did not want to return back. I believe prisoners were not beaten during transportation. As for the prison itself, I know that nobody can enter Kutaisi prison without being beaten. It is natural that recently brought prisoners will not call me since they are in punishment cells. However, I assure you soon we will have information about it,” said former head of the civil monitoring commission of the Kutaisi Prison N 2 Manana Managadze.

The statement of the public defender, where he said that nobody had beaten prisoners and they had injured themselves, caused doubt from the very beginning. “Did anybody ask the prisoners why they injured themselves? That means they had some problems. I think they are not crazy to do it for pleasure. It makes no difference they were beaten or were compelled to injure themselves,” said Manana Managadze.

People have applied to the Kutaisi office of the Human Rights Center and complained about beating of inmates in Kutaisi prison N2 since it was opened. The attorneys also often speak about the hard situation in the detention setting. Several cases were also sent to Strasbourg Court which were discussed in the previous articles of the Human Rights Center.

As for the harassment of prisoners that occurred on October 18, the Human Rights Center continues to study the fact and will provide the readers with additional information in near future.