The Ombudsman’s Office Demands Investigation Into Activities Of Poti Police Department

The Ombudsman’s Office Demands Investigation Into Activities Of Poti Police Department

Tbilisi, 05.03.2006, ‘Media News’ – “After witnessing crimes from the side of the police near Poti, the Ombudsman then started to study the activities of police officers themselves, discovering that they too were breaking the law”, declared representatives of the Ombudsman’s Office.

The Ombudsman’s Office published several facts about violations committed by Poti Police. On the 18th of February 2006, Giorgi Moistsrapishvili was stopped by the police officers near Maltakhva block-post. Moistsrapishvili asked police officers the reason for being stopped. The answer he received from staff of the Special Forces was to be physically and verbally assaulted. According to Moistsrapishvili, who was moved to the Police Department, he was then verbally assaulted by Irakli Jikia, the Head of the Police Department.

At the end of February, the Special Forces staff arrested a pupil from the tenth grade in the same area. The Ombudsman refrains from naming the pupil for his and his parents’ security.

The Ombudsman intends to submit all of these materials to the General Prosecutor’s Office and demands investigation of the cases.