The Public Defender of Georgia submitted another communication to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe relating to the state of execution of the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Merabishvili v. Georgia.

The communication echoes the March 2023 decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the action plans submitted by the Government of Georgia in December 2022 and April 2024, and assesses the general measures taken by the Government to execute the case.

The following issues were discussed in the communication:

• Reducing the storage period of video recordings in penitentiary institutions from 30 to 10 days and the possible negative impact of this change on the protection of prisoners from ill-treatment and detection of ill-treatment;
• The need to reform the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia and challenges in this regard. In particular, the procedure for electing the Prosecutor General, the composition and functions of the Prosecutorial Council, the individual independence of prosecutors.
• Gaps in the mandate and activities of the Special Investigation Service.

In order to facilitate the execution of the Merabishvili v. Georgia case, recommendations were also made to the Georgian authorities.