On July 7, 2016, the Public Defender of Georgia addressed the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia with a proposal to immediately launch an investigation into an alleged ill-treatment of defendant D.G.

The Public Defender’s authorized representative met with defendant D.G. in the penitentiary facility No 8 of the Ministry of Corrections. According to the defendant, he was arrested by officers of Vake-Saburtalo police station No 1 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on 25 June 2016 without being explained that they were law enforcers. D.G. claims he did not resist arrest, though police still made him lie down on the pavement. At the same time, one of the police officers hit him twice in the face with a gun. Afterwards, police officers were abusing him and hitting in the head in a car on the way to a police station.

Study of the medical documents obtained from the penitentiary institution revealed that D.G. had hemorrhages under the skin around his eyes and an excoriation near his nose covered with a scab when he was brought to the facility.

According to the Public Defender, there is ground to suspect that D.G. was ill-treated during arrest, which requires a prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigation in order to indentify offenders and bring them to justice.