National Preventive Mechanism of the Zugdidi police Ruslan Shomakhia and another policeman whose name he did not know. The convict stated that he was forcibly pushed into car, a sack was put on his head and he was taken to an unknown direction. Then he was taken out of the car, a testimony of some Shota S. was shown to him where the latter stated that Malkhaz A., together with other persons, participated in terrorist acts that had taken place in Zugdidi and nearby territories in the period from 2008 to 2010. Malkhaz A. refused to confess in the above accusation. Subsequently he was physically and verbally assaulted. In particular, as he said, he was sworn at, spit at, threatened with a gun and beaten up with an iron truncheon. The convict said that his beating continued for around 30-40 minutes. After that he was put in a car and taken in the direction of the village of Rukhi where they were met with an investigator who searched him. During the search 1500 GEL, 2 mobile phones, 80 Russian rubles and drugs were confiscated from him. As he explained, he did not have or even seen all the above before but since he was frightened he signed the search protocol. Malkhaz A. explained that after he was transferred to the Zugdidi main police department where upon arriving he was again physically and verbally assaulted in the hall of the second floor of the division. As he stated, policemen Temur Loria alongside with those who detained him participated in his beating. Malkhaz A. lost consciousness because of severe beating in the main police department when he was forcibly given water being diluted with drugs. As the convict said, he did not experience any kind of physical pressure in a temporary detention isolator. The convict explained that during admission into Zugdidi establishment N4 convoy told the establishment personnel that Malkhaz A. was a drug addict, car dealer and relative of Zviad A., and as the convict explained this led to his being severely beaten up. After the above, for two days he was in a cell and experienced no more assault. And two days later Megis Kardava approached him asking whether he knew wanted Zviad A. According to Malkhaz A., because of a negative answer he was placed in a solitary cell for one day. Next day he was brought out of the cell. They started beating and swearing at him constantly asking him whether he got everything what they have said or not. According to Malkhaz A., afterwards he was transferred to a cell where they burst into around 30-40 minutes later and took him down to a solitary cell while beating him on the way there. The convict noted that he stayed in the solitary cell for around two hours after which he was transferred back to his cell. Until May 19th, 2011 he was placed in establishment N4 and no facts of beating and assault inflicted against him were noted. On May 19th, 2011 he was transferred to establishment N8 in Tbilisi. According to the convict, on May 20th he was taken up into the director’s office where there was Megis Kardava with two other persons. Megis Kardava asked him to write a confession with regards to terrorist acts in Zugdidi. Malkhaz A. replied to him that he had no link to the matter after which, as the convict noted, Kardava ordered his companions to take the inmate to quarantine. Malkhaz A. said that he was being beaten on the way to the quarantine; he was brought to a door of one of the cells and was made to look into the cell where a man was sexually abusing another man. He was told to remember this fact well as the same fate would befall him if he did not give the necessary testimony. He was given a pen and a paper and told to write the testimony. As Malkhaz A. said, to save himself he wrote about terrorist acts that he had heard from the media and said that he participated in those acts. The witness testimony was taken up to Megis Kardava and after that Malkhaz A. himself was taken to the director��s office. According to Malkhaz A., as soon as he entered the room Kardava told him that that this was not the testimony they wanted and he should eat the paper the testimony was written on. The convict noted that Kardava’s companions made him swallow the paper. After this M. Kardava ordered his companions to take the inmate to the quarantine unit and rape him. As the convict said he was taken to the cell and the door was shut, during which two masked persons came out of a toilet. They forced the convict to pull the trousers down. The convict noted that when he was thrown down on the floor with his trousers down photos were taken from the so-called “karmushka” on the cell door. As he explained, he was banging his head on the concrete floor when Kardava’s companions entered the cell. They held the inmate, one of the masked men touched him with his genitals during which a photo was taken. After this the masked people left the cell and Karadava’s companions again told him that if he did not give the testimony they wanted he would be really raped. As he said he was frightened to the extent, that he gave the testimony they have asked. The convict said that investigator Lasha Kolbaia was present there, and his numerous requests that his lawyer attended the questioning have not been met. www.ombudsman.ge NPM Report