According to the reports spread on April 5, 2018, six people died and three were injured as a result of ceiling collapse at Mindeli mine in the town of Tkibuli. A representative of the Public Defender visited two injured miners at the Kutaisi Regional Clinical Hospital. The Public Defender expresses deep sorrow over the accident and offers sympathy to the family members of the victims.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, an investigation was launched into the mentioned case under Article 240² of the Criminal Code, which pertains to the breach of safety regulations during mining, construction or other works. It is important to carry out the investigation timely and effectively.

The Public Defender analyzed the statistical data on the investigations of similar cases and information about the court rulings in the parliamentary report 2017. The statistical data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs show that in 2017, only 11 out of 128 cases of investigation into accidents proceeded to the court; investigations were terminated in 36 cases and were pending in 81 cases. It should also be noted that the measure of imprisonment was applied only in 3 out of 90 cases considered by the general courts from January 1, 2015 to October 31, 2017. Guilty verdicts were delivered in 20 more cases as a result of the consideration of a case on its merits. 72,2% (65 cases) of cases were settled by plea bargain without consideration of a case on its merits. One defendant was acquitted and one case was sent back to the Prosecutor's Office for the purpose of diversion. The amount of fines imposed varies from GEL 500 to 5000. The data also show problems in terms of delays in and results of the investigations. An important problem is that, in most cases, manufacturing safety rules can be found only in the norms adopted during the Soviet Union and are scattered in the special acts regulating various manufacturing processes.

It is noteworthy that, pursuant to the Law on Safety at Work, which has been adopted this year, the supervisory body shall be authorized to check protection of safety norms at the hard, harmful, or hazardousworkplaces (in the cases envisaged by law) and impose sanctions in case of detection of violations. The sanctions will take effect from August 1, 2018. Enforcement of the mentioned law is important for protecting workers’ rights in future.

The Public Defender will observe the investigation ongoing in the mentioned case, as well as the execution of the abovementioned law.