A man who was subjected to police violence in Gori earlier today has been detained, said his lawyer, Lasha Tkesheladze.
Speaking to Kartlis Ambebi, the lawyer said the man had recently been transferred to a detention isolator. He criticized the circumstances surrounding the arrest.
“The information is already confirmed: he was recently transferred to an isolator. He was detained, but the most cynical part is that the very police officers who were assaulting him are the same officers who brought him in and transferred him to the isolator,” Tkesheladze said.
“On the one hand, they are detaining a person who is a victim of torture, while on the other hand, the police officers who directly committed this violence and tortured a citizen for several minutes have not been detained to this moment. I want to tell the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor’s Office that this person is innocent. The footage clearly shows violence being carried out against him — he was tortured. Instead of detaining this person, the police officers should have been detained. Not one or two, but up to ten officers were involved in the violence. The charge must be reclassified and an investigation launched under the article concerning torture,” the lawyer added.
Earlier, footage spread from Gori showing police officers physically assaulting and detaining citizens in the Kombinati settlement area. Later, the Prosecutor’s Office announced that an investigation had been launched into allegations of police violence against citizens in Gori.
Related story: Police officers in Gori investigated over violence against detainee
