News

Second Meeting of Public Defender's Consultative Council in the course of Examination of the Criminal Case into Alleged Abuse of Power by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on June 20-21

On 18 September 2019, Deputies of the Public Defender of Georgia, Giorgi Burjanadze and Tamar Gvaramadze, met with members of the Consultative Council and provided information available to the Office about the criminal case into the alleged abuse of power by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on June 20-21.

For the purpose of studying the case materials, the Public Defender's Office made 35 visits to the Prosecutor's Office; in addition, they have been studying qustioning materials and documentation. According to Giorgi Burjanadze, the investigation has already questioned more than 550 witnesses, including those firing the rubber bullets.

The Public Defender’s Office is examining the national and international law and practice in order to ascertain whether the law was violated by the officers of the Ministry of Internal Officers, who say that they fired rubber bullets without an order, in order to avoid danger; and whether individual decisions in similar cases are in compliance with the legislation.

The Public Defender will submit additional proposals to the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia in the coming days, including a recommendation relating to the seizure of records of handheld transceivers and other means of communications involved in the investigation. "Only the orders issued by the governing body have been seized so far, but we believe it is appropriate to observe the process of transmitting instructions received by the middle level to the lower level in order to fully understand what kind of orders were issued and how they were conveyed to the immediate executors," said Giorgi Burjanadze.

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The Public Defender has been involved in the investigation of alleged abuse of power by the officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on June 20-21, 2019, ongoing in the Prosecutor’s Office, since July 2. 35 visits have been made to the Prosecutor General's Office of Georgia for the purpose of familiarizing with the case files.

In order to ensure the effectiveness and transparency of monitoring, the Public Defender has set up a consultative council. The Public Defender will periodically hold meetings with the council, members of which are representatives of various groups, non-governmental organizations and professional circles.

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