Public Defender's Representatives Continue to Visit Citizens Detained and Injured during Protests
As of now, the Public Defender's Office has visited 125 individuals detained/injured at the protests held in Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi on November 28-30, 2024. Detailed information about the condition of 81 of them has already been provided to the public over the past two days.
We would like to inform the public that Public Defender's representatives have additionally visited 44 individuals detained on November 30, 38 of whom indicated ill-treatment by the police (11 did not express a desire for their case to be responded). 26 detainees had various injuries to their bodies, mostly, visible injuries to the face.
It is alarming that the detainees indicate deliberate retaliation by members of the special forces. According to some of the detainees, they were surrounded, not given the opportunity to leave the area, and the law enforcement officers indiscriminately beat protesters. Some of the detainees say they were subjected to ill-treatment not only at the moment of their arrest, but also later - in the car.
According to the detainees, similar to the earlier practice, the arrest and alleged ill-treatment of them were carried out by members of the special forces, and then they were handed over to patrol police officers.
It is noteworthy that a significant part of the detainees indicate the seizure of personal belongings (mobile phones, laptops, wallets with money, etc.), the further fate of which is unknown to them.
The Public Defender's Office provided information to the Special Investigation Service about the detainee, who became an alleged victim of police violence. The Office has also provided the Service with a number of video footage and information spread by public sources, which reflect alleged ill-treatment of citizens and journalists by the police.
Public Defender's representatives continue to visit detained persons, including journalists, and the public will be informed about the results.
The hotline of the Public Defender's Office - 14 81 - operates 24 hours a day to receive notifications about human rights violations.
