Levan Ioseliani, Georgian Public Defender, met Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights.

Following the meeting, the Public Defender said he focused on the situation of individuals detained during protests and locals residing at the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL), the latest legislative amendments, and the situation of non-government and civic organizations in Georgia.

According to Levan Ioseliani, the CoE Human Rights Commissioner was interested in whether anyone who may have been responsible for the beatings was held accountable.

The Public Defender welcomed the fact that Michael O’Flaherty arrived for the second time in the last year, saying the visits were essential and hoped that the partnership relations would continue in the future.

When asked by a reporter whether he had discussed the cases of detained politicians with the Human Rights Commissioner, Ioseliani noted that he had not discussed specific cases, although Michael O’Flaherty was interested in Mzia Amaglobeli’s state of health in jail.

“We provided information on everything we are involved in, what we have worked on and continue to work on. He has not discussed the recommendations with me. He will probably review this with those who are supposed to implement these recommendations.

We focused on legislative changes, the Law on Grants, and amendments to the Code of Administrative Law Violations, over which I filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court by attaching the opinion from the OSCE/ODIHR. The conversation also touched on the general situation that these changes could lead to, and what the consequences of this could be in the long run,” he said.

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.