From 18 to 29 November, A delegation of the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out a visit to Georgia.
During the visit the delegation examined the treatment and safeguards afforded to persons in police custody, including those detained during the ongoing public demonstrations in Tbilisi. It also looked into the situation of persons held in several prison establishments. In addition, the delegation visited three psychiatric hospitals, where it examined the treatment and living conditions of patients, and reviewed the application of legal safeguards relating to involuntary hospitalisation. The visit was an opportunity to review the progress made by the authorities in implementing the recommendations set out in the reports by the CPT after previous visits.
During the visit the delegation examined the treatment and safeguards afforded to persons in police custody, including those detained during the ongoing public demonstrations in Tbilisi. It also looked into the situation of persons held in several prison establishments. In addition, the delegation visited three psychiatric hospitals, where it examined the treatment and living conditions of patients, and reviewed the application of legal safeguards relating to involuntary hospitalization. The visit was an opportunity to review the progress made by the authorities in implementing the recommendations set out in the reports by the CPT after previous visits.
In the course of the visit, the delegation held consultations with Rati Bregadze, Minister of Justice, Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Tamar Gabunia, First Deputy Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Health, Labor and Social Affairs, Nika Tskhvarashvili, Director General of the Special Penitentiary Service, and Koka Katsitadze, Head of the Special Investigation Service, as well as with other senior officials from the above-mentioned ministries and agencies.
The delegation also had meetings with Levan Ioseliani, the Public Defender (Ombudsperson) and staff of the National Preventive Mechanism Department of his Office, as well as with representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.
The visit was carried out by the following members of the CPT:
- Therese Rytter, 2nd Vice-President of the CPT (Head of delegation)
- Hans Wolff, 1st Vice-President of the CPT
- Lise-Lotte Carlsson
- Nikola Kovačević
- Alexander Minchev
- Ceyhun Qaracayev
- Răzvan-Horaţiu Radu.
They were supported by Borys Wόdz (Head of Division), Elvin Aliyev and Aikaterini Lazana of the CPT Secretariat, and assisted by an expert, Jutta Heilmann, consultant for psychiatry, medical psychotherapy and general medicine (Austria).
The delegation visited the following places of deprivation of liberty:
Police establishments
- Temporary Detention Isolator (TDI) in Batumi
- TDI in Kobuleti
- TDI in Kutaisi
- TDI in Mtskheta
- TDI in Ozurgeti
- TDI in Rustavi
- TDIs Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in Tbilisi
- Tserovani Police Station
Prison establishments
- Penitentiary Establishment No. 1, Laituri
- Penitentiary Establishment No. 2, Kutaisi
- Penitentiary Establishment No. 8, Gldani
- Penitentiary Establishment No. 15, Ksani
- Penitentiary Establishment No. 18 (Prison Hospital), Gldani
Psychiatric establishments
- Psychiatry Department of Batumi Medical Center (Khevalchauri Psychiatric Hospital)
- National Centre for Mental Health in Khoni (Kutiri Psychiatric Hospital)
- Tbilisi Mental Health Center
