Tamar Gvaramadze, First Deputy Public Defender of Georgia, together with Natia Mezvrishvili, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia and Giorgi Mosashvili, Director of the Temporary Detention Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, visited a temporary detention isolator in Tsalka, which was rehabilitated on the basis of the recommendation of the Public Defender.

According to Tamar Gvaramadze, the rehabilitated isolator is in full compliance with the temporary detention standards of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture.

"The Public Defender has issued a number of recommendations with regard to the improvement of conditions in temporary detention isolators for years. One of the recommendations concerned the Tsalka temporary detention isolator, monitoring of which was carried out by the Public Defender's Office in 2015. Conditions in the facility were not satisfactory,"- said Tamar Gvaramadze.

The Deputy Public Defender positively evaluated the reform of temporary detention isolators and stressed that the Public Defender’s Office would be involved in the monitoring of the process.

The Tsalka isolator was completely renovated, including its central heating and ventilation systems; it was equipped with modern inventory; a medical room was opened in order to provide qualified medical services for the detainees. The perimeter of the building is fully controlled by surveillance cameras.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs plans to renovate 6 other isolators as well and bring them in compliance with international standards by the end of 2018.