On January 22-26, 2018, Public Defender Nino Lomjaria paid an official visit to the Council of Europe. On January 23, the Public Defender delivered a speech on human rights in Georgia within the framework of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and spoke about the trends, changes and challenges in the field of human rights in Georgia. Special attention was paid to the alarming situation of human rights in the occupied territories of Georgia, as well as along the dividing line, and expressed concern about the fact that the occupational force does not allow international missions to monitor human rights situation.

The Public Defender positively assessed the reforms carried out in the penitentiary system aimed at improving prisoners’ conditions and health care, as well as the attained progress, though noted that the cases of ill-treatment at the places of detention indicate the need for the establishment of an independent investigative mechanism.

The Public Defender noted that despite a number of institutional and systemic reforms, existence of an independent court still remained a problem in the country; speaking about the situation of equality, she emphasized the frequent cases of violence against women.

According to her, despite the progress achieved in the field of freedom of religion, there are significant obstacles in the investigation of the crimes committed on religious grounds.

The Public Defender also discussed the situation of freedom of expression, including the developments around the Rustavi 2 TV channel and the temporary measure of the Strasbourg Court.

In response to the questions of the participants of the meeting, the Public Defender presented available information about the investigation into the case of Afgan Mukhtarli. She emphasized the importance of the issue and expressed her desire to meet with Mukhtarli at the first opportunity. In connection with the case of Ivane Merabishvili, she spoke about the necessity for taking quick measures by the Government of Georgia for the identification and punishment of the responsible persons and proper administration of justice. She termed Mikheil Saakashvili's conviction for using his exclusive and absolute authority to pardon prisoners as a judicial problem.

The presentation was attended by members of the national delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the ambassadors accredited in the Council of Europe and other officials of the Council of Europe.

Within the framework of her visit, the Public Defender held meeting with Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, Council of Europe's Deputy Secretary General, Wojciech Sawicki, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Guido Raimondi, President of the European Court of Human Rights, and Lado Chanturia, elected judge of the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Georgia, Gianni Buquicchio, President of the Venice Commission, Nils Muiznieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Christos Giakoumopoulos, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe, Claudia Luciani, Director of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, and Nicholas Sitaropoulos, Head of the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

At the meetings, the Public Defender discussed the rights situation of persons living in the occupied territories and along the dividing line, as well as the situation of justice, ill-treatment and equality and the challenges in the mentioned fields.