On August 16, 2017, a representative of the Department of Prevention and Monitoring of the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia monitored the joint return operation of the Georgian citizens residing on the territory of the EU countries without permission. The representative of the Department of Prevention and Monitoring left Tbilisi international airport for the airports of the German city of Düsseldorf and Greek capital Athens, where they attended the return of 86 Georgian citizens from the European countries.

The Georgian citizens were handed over to the escort of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia by border police officers of Germany and Greece (in Dusseldorf and Athens) on board. The process was coordinated by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union FRONTEX.

The process of reception, checking and travelling of the Georgian citizens was monitored non-stop. No incident has taken place and no force or special means were used during the return operation. Handover of information booklets, which provided information about the state program on reintegration of returned migrants, to the Georgian citizens on board should be praised.

It should be noted that telephone communication with family members was still problematic. Like the previous monitoring, the Georgian citizens were allowed to use phones only after the representatives of the Department of Prevention and Monitoring of the Public Defender's Office notified the FRONTEX representatives of the problem.