An innovation - monitoring of joint return operations - was introduced in the work of the National Preventive Mechanism in 2014. It is important that the monitoring has become regular, as a result of which employees of the Department of Prevention and Monitoring of the Public Defender's Office carried out monitoring of the joint return operation for the second time on October 20, 2015.

The monitoring was carried out within the framework of the EU-Georgia Readmission Agreement and was aimed at observing the deportation of 35 Georgian citizens from the EU countries.

Border police officers of Germany, Switzerland and Bulgaria handed over Georgian citizens deported from Germany, Switzerland and Bulgaria to the Georgian side (representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs) on board (in Dusseldorf and Sofia). The deportation was coordinated by the European organization FRONTEX.

Officers of the Patrol Police and the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia were engaged in the operation. Within the framework of the monitoring, representatives of the Department of Prevention and Monitoring of the Public Defender's Office went from Tbilisi International Airport to the cities of Dusseldorf and Sofia.

The deported persons were checked (gender specifics were taken into account) by officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs with a metal detector in the plane, after which one or two employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs sat next to each deported person.

The process of checking and travelling was monitored non-stop. No violation of the rights of the deported persons has been revealed. The trip was calm, during which members of the National Preventive Mechanism talked to the deported persons, part of which expressed dissatisfaction against the deportation process in general.

The Public Defender continues to survey the reasons for dissatisfaction and to verify information.