We have already visited 156 people, and 124 of them claim that they were subjected to violence and inhumane treatment, which is almost 80% of those detained. This is a very worrying indicator. I call on the police not to exceed the norms established by the law, – public defender Levan Ioseliani said.
At the briefing, he informed the media about the current situation regarding the protests.
“You have followed our feedback, including an assessment of all issues relating to the use of force by the police against protesters, proportionality or cases of excessive force. I will tell you that we visited 156 people and 124 of them claim that they were subjected to violence, inhuman treatment, which is almost 80%.
“This is a very disturbing number, because if we look at the dynamics, including the previous demonstrations, the number of citizens who claim that there was an excess of force on the part of the police is increasing alarmingly. Therefore, I once again call on the police not to go beyond the norms established by the law and to use only legitimate force against citizens, so that the Special Investigation Service reacts strictly to all such cases,” said Ioseliani.
He claimed that the employees of the Public Defender’s Office are still in the isolation cells visiting the detainees.
“This is both western and eastern Georgia. In almost every city where there are detention centers and people incarcerated, our representatives are present and continue to exercise their authority at this moment.
“We provide information to the public on a daily basis to keep everyone informed of what the machine is doing.
“At the same time, there is a hotline and I encourage everyone to contact the hotline and provide us with information about the rights violations that have become known to them.
“As soon as we determine the whereabouts of the detainees, we also provide them to their family members, relatives, etc.,” said Ioseliani.
