Georgia does not have an effective independent mechanism for investigating abuse by law enforcement officials - Human Rights Watch report

14:44, 19.01.2018

Georgia does not have an effective independent mechanism for investigating abuse by law enforcement officials, says the Human Rights Watch report 2018.

According to the report, investigations, if launched, often lead to charges that carry lesser, inappropriate sanctions, like abuse of office, and rarely result in convictions. Authorities often refuse to grant victim status to those who allege abuse, depriving them the opportunity to review investigation files.

“Since November 2016, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), a leading human rights group, received at least 20 allegations of torture and ill-treatment by police, and five by prison staff. According to GYLA, authorities did not effectively investigate the allegations

At the ombudsman’s request, the prosecutor’s office launched investigations into 63 cases of alleged torture and ill-treatment since 2014. The investigations did not lead to a single criminal prosecution”, says the report.

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effective independent mechanism

Human Rights Watch