CoE Human Rights Commissioner holds meetings in Georgia

Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, is holding a series of meetings in Georgia, beginning with a session alongside representatives of non-governmental organisations.

Tamar Oniani, Chair of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), noted that discussions at the meeting centred on the state of human rights in the country.

“A meeting took place with the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, during which we discussed the human rights situation in the country, including restrictive legislative acts that target the narrowing of civic space, the shrinking of operational space for journalists, as well as issues relating to the right to protest. We also spoke about the effectiveness of investigations into cases of systematic torture and the use of unidentified chemical substances against demonstrators.

As is known from the Commissioner’s official public statement, he will be meeting with both civil society representatives and officials from state institutions, as his mandate encompasses the monitoring of human rights in the country. We have previously seen some assessments, including those relating to chemical substances. Officially, the Commissioner is involved as a third party in proceedings before the Strasbourg court in connection with the ‘Russian law’ case, and, as such, his mandate covers the monitoring of the human rights situation within the country,” said Tamar Oniani.

When asked by a journalist whether the Commissioner had been informed of the ongoing investigation into the use of chemical substances, Oniani noted that GYLA regularly keeps the public informed about the progress of the investigation.

“In connection with the chemical substances, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association is conducting proceedings at the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia on behalf of several individuals, and we periodically inform the public about developments in this investigation. We consider it imperative that these matters be properly investigated, as the intensity and legality of the means employed give rise to well-founded suspicions that they may amount to a criminally punishable act,” Oniani stated.

The Commissioner is also scheduled to meet Georgia’s Public Defender, Levan Ioseliani, later today.