The facts of alleged beating and charges against police officers

Natia Gogolashvili

On August 6, Human Rights Center and Georgian Bar Association held a joint press conference regarding the fact of beating of Vladimer Baratashvili. At the press conference, the organizations called on the Government to create an independent investigative mechanism.

On August 4, an arrested person Vladimer Baratashvili addressed Human Rights Center for legal assistance. He stated that on August 3, 2015, he was brutally beaten by police officers first at Isani-Samgori Police Division later at the Third Array Department. A lawyer of Human Rights Center Tamar Avaliani and a trustee of the Public Defender noticed the injuries and improper treatment from the police officers. 

“I visited Vladimer Baratashvili at the temporary detention isolator. He said that he was brutally beaten at Isani-Samgori Police. Vladimer Baratashvili names a specific person whose surname is Tamazashvili, he is a police chief of Afrika neighborhood. According to Baratashvili, Tamazashvili and his deputy participated in the beating. Beating continued in the Third Array Police Department. They were beating him in the face with metal keys for 10-15 minutes and were forcing him to admit the crime, which according to Baratashvili, he did not commit,” –says Tamar Avaliani. 

“As soon as they brought me into the office, five police officers who were there, including Tamazashvili, started to swear at me and insult me. Deputy of Isani-Samgori Police Division was beating me in the head with his legs and hands, swearing at me and asking me to confess as if on August 1 2015 I stripped off a necklace from a woman’s neck at the market of Varketili. I did not do it. I spent 15 minutes in the office. While I was there, the police officers were beating and insulting me,”-reads the explanatory letter written by Vladimer Baratashvili. 

According to the executive director of Human Rights Center Aleko Tskitishvili and the chair of Georgian Bar Association, Zaza Khatiashvili, it is necessary to create an independent investigative body in Georgia, which will investigate alleged crimes committed by law enforcement. 

“Police brutality has reached its tipping point in Georgia. The alleged torture of Vladimer Baratashvili is close to the scenarios that used to take place during Saakashvili’s regime, because the police officers threatened Baratashvili with raping his wife and sister. This exact same scenario used to be during Saakashvili’s regime. Police brutality is out of hands of the Government and now it is irreversible. If the situation is not improved in the country, the officials of Ivanishvili will end up as the officials of Saakasvhili did,”- says Zaza Khatiasvhili. 

“The current mechanism in Georgia is ineffective to investigate this kind of incidents. The Government is unable to timely and effectively investigate the alleged facts of misconduct by police officers. Our recommendation and request is to create an independent investigative mechanism in Georgia, which will investigate the alleged crimes committed by law enforcement,”- says Aleko Tskitishvili.

It is notable that the organizations held a joint press conference with the same request on July 29 and talked about another fact of alleged misconduct by police officers.