In the period from May 15 to June 8, 2023, the Public Defender’s Office held meetings on the topic "Child and Police" in different regions of Georgia. The goal of the project was to provide schoolchildren with detailed information about their rights, especially in the context of their communication with the police.

Within the framework of the project, employees of the Criminal Justice Department of the Public Defender’s Office, in cooperation with the Western and Eastern Georgian Divisions, visited the schools of Tbilisi, Imereti, Samegrelo, Racha, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Shida Kartli and Kakheti. Representatives of the Department met with a total of 1,650 students from 54 schools and 10 students of one of the colleges.

Like the first stage of the project, special attention was paid to the rights of the child during various police activities. Schoolchildren were informed of their rights and responsibilities during interviews, identification (photographing of children by the police), surface inspection, etc. Students were informed of the authorized agencies they can contact in case of violation of their rights and were provided with detailed contact information.

The Public Defender’s Office will continue holding similar informational meetings/trainings in order to inform citizens, including minors, about their rights as much as possible. The Public Defender particularly welcomes the high interest of children in civic education and thanks them for their active participation in the meetings. We also thank the teachers and school administrations for their effective cooperation and support for the implementation of the project.