According to the State Security Service, seven citizens of Georgia were arrested on 22 August 2016 on different charges in connection with planning a terror attack.

According to media reports, a family member of one of the detainees stated that Beka Bekauri was subjected to ill treatment during the detention, due to which he later pleaded guilty.

For comprehensive examination of the case, my authorized representatives arrived at the hospital yesterday, though they were unable to see the detainees for about an hour. The hospital staff named absence of permission from the security service as the motive of the abovementioned. Unfortunately, yesterday the detainee could not talk to my representatives due to physical weakness as he had undergone surgery.

We visited and talked to Beka Bekauri today and we also obtained his medical documentation from the hospital as well as from the detention center No 1. According to the detainee, he was subjected to ill treatment during the detention, namely his forehead bone was broken with a buttstock, as a result of which he lost consciousness and he cannot remember when his fingers were broken. In addition, according to Beka Bekauri, his detention took place at about 12:00 on 20 August and despite the open wounds in his head and left hand, he was not provided any medical assistance till 23:00.

The medical documents show that Beka Bekauri was brought to the temporary detention center at about 23:00, though the center refused to admit him due to his numerous injuries. The detainee was taken to the medical facilities twice, where finally he was operated on.

Consequently, we may presume that Beka Bekauri was ill treated by law enforcers and he was not provided with medical assistance for 11 hours despite his wounds, which also may refer to ill treatment.

Given all this, I demand the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia to immediately launch investigative actions in order to indentify the individuals who allegedly committed ill treatment against Beka Bekauri.