Since 2012, the Public Defender of Georgia has studied a number of cases of high public interest on his own initiative, reflected them in his parliamentary reports and issued recommendations in order to ensure effective investigations. According to the information provided by the Prosecutor's Office by the time of preparing this statement, no perpetrators have been identified in the majority of the cases despite the fact that a number of investigative actions were conducted; in most cases, no final decisions have been made. Only some of the high-profilecases, studied by the Public Defender of Georgia, are indicated below:

1. The case of B.R.

In September 2012, after meeting with the family members of infant B.R. who died in the Kakheti region the night before the parliamentary elections, the Public Defender of Georgia publicly called on the investigative agency to accelerate the ongoing investigation and punish offenders.

Despite the investigative actions, carried out in relation to the death of the infant, no criminal prosecution has been launched against any person; the investigation is still pending. It is noteworthy that the child's mother was granted the status of victim's legal representative

2. The case of S.K.

The Public Defender of Georgia called on the investigative body to conduct a thorough and objective probe in order to find the cause of the death of defendant S.K. in the Khashuri district police division on February 27, 2012, as well as whether he had been subjected to inhuman or cruel treatment before death.

Investigative actions were carried out to establish alleged abuse of power by police officers against S.K., but nobody has been charged yet.

3. Dispersal of demonstration on 26 May 2011

The Public Defender of Georgia called on the investigative body to ensure timely investigation of the mass violations of human rights during the dispersal of a protest rally on Rustaveli Avenue on May 26, 2011.

Criminal prosecution was launched against 6 high ranking officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia in relation to the mentioned case. A guilty verdict was delivered against the former Minister of Internal Affairs, while the criminal case against the remaining 5 persons is still being considered by the court. More than 250 people were recognized as victims in the case; investigation still continues into the case.

4. The case of 26 000 files of secret recordings

In 2013, information was spread about thousands of illegally obtained secret recordings that were kept in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia and/or according to the law enforcement agencies, were discovered in various caches. By the Government’s order №206 of August 15, 2013, a temporary commission working on issues of illegal wiretapping and secret recordings was set up, and the Public Defender of Georgia was offered to get involved in the commission as its member.

According to the 31 January 2014 report of the commission, the total number of secret files amounted to 28 687. By the commission’s decision, the video footage showing personal, including intimae life, were destroyed on September 5, 2013, while on January 29, 2014, the temporary commission completed its work and handed over part of the recordings to the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia for investigation. The Public Defender's recommendation was to effectively investigate how the recordings were obtained and bring offenders to justice.

In relation to the mentioned case, investigation is still underway into the abuse of power by certain employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia; no criminal prosecution has been launched despite the fact that a numerous investigative and procedural actions were carried out.

1. 5. Investigation of crimes committed during the 2008 Russia-Georgia war[1]

One of the recommendations of the Public Defender of Georgia was to investigate the alleged crimes committed during and after the August war, including the cases of missing persons, in an effective manner and as soon as possible.[2]

According to the information provided by the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia, investigation into the mentioned case, which is of large volume and includes many episodes, is underway in the investigation division of the Prosecutor's Office, under parts 1 and 2 of articles 407 and 411, and article 413 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. More than 4,000 persons were recognized as victims and were questioned. More than 500 persons were questioned/interrogated as witnesses, and several thousand investigative and procedural actions were conducted. As for the investigation of the cases of persons who went missing during the war, a guilty verdict was delivered against the former Head of the Constitutional Security Department in relation to the illegal deprivation of the liberty of D.Ts. and P.K under subparagraph "c" of paragraph 2 of article 14 and subparagraph "b" of paragraph 2 of article 109 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. All investigative and procedural actions were conducted in relation to the illegal deprivation of the liberty of D.S., but no investigative actions can be carried out on the territory of occupied Abkhazia. Numerous investigative actions were conducted with regard to the illegal deprivation of the liberty of A.Kh., A.Kh., S.P. and T.K, although their whereabouts could not be established. The family members of A.K., S.K., S.P. and D.S. were declared victims’ legal representatives; investigation still continues into the case.

It should also be noted that despite the launch of a probe by the International Criminal Court on the issues of Georgia, the investigative bodies of Georgia are still obliged to investigate the crimes committed during the 2008 war and punish offenders.

1. 6. The Lapankuri special operation

The Public Defender's reports include recommendations[3] on effective, impartial and independent investigation of the Lapankuri special operation conducted at the end of August 2012: in particular, to launch an investigation into lawfulness and proportionality of the use of lethal force by law enforcers, to investigate the circumstances of planning and carrying out the operation, the investigation to be conducted by the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia, the family members of the killed persons to he granted status of victim’s legal representative and to ensure their effective participation in the process of investigation.

According to the information provided to the Public Defender's Office, the investigation into the mentioned case is being carried out under article 144 of the Criminal Code of Georgia by the Counterintelligence Department of the State Security Service of Georgia under the supervision of the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia. All necessary investigative actions, including questioning of 300 persons as witnesses, appointment of several kinds of examinations, exhumation and forensic examination of bodies, were carried out; important information was requested and received within the framework of international assistance. No criminal prosecution has been launched. In addition, the alleged offense of the law enforcement officers has not been separated from the mentioned case as an independent case. Nobody has been granted the status of victim's legal representative.