In the sixth recommendation, the Special Preventive Group requested that 14 days be set as a minimum
period for keeping the recordings of video surveillance systems installed in police departments,
divisions and stations. The Public Defender/Special Preventive Group welcomes the implementation
of this recommendation.203
One of the recommendations to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia was to pilot the immediate
transfer of detainees to a temporary detention facility as soon as they are detained, as a safeguard against
torture and ill-treatment. The recommendation has not been implemented. According to the
information received from the Ministry, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia does not agree with
the recommendation, as it is related to a lot of logistical, infrastructural, procedural problems. In
addition, according to the Ministry, a number of investigative activities are carried out in the police
stations, which cannot be carried out in a temporary isolator. The purpose of the mentioned
recommendation was to reduce the cases of detainee’s long presence under police control, as the above
involves high risks of physical violence and psychological pressure by police.204 In addition, this
recommendation is particularly relevant given that the Public Defender’s very important
recommendations concerning safeguards against torture and ill-treatment have not been implemented.
It should be noted that in addition to the minimum safeguards provided for the detainees in legislation,
the safeguards against ill-treatment also include the registration of all the detainees transferred to police
facilities, audio and video recording, including during interrogations, etc.
One recommendation to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia concerned the documentation of
administrative detention. In particular, the Special Preventive Group requested that changes be made
so that to add the following information to the administrative detention chart: the time of drawing up
the document; description of the injuries on the body of the detainee; circumstances of the detention;
whether there was resistance; whether the measure of coercion was used and in what form. The
recommendation has not been implemented. The Ministry's reply reads that they do not consider it
relevant to implement this recommendation as an independent mechanism has been established and is
being developed in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which aims to add medical rooms in temporary
placement isolators.
The Public Defender considers that the above reply does not correspond to the content of the
recommendation. It should be noted that during the entire period of the detainee's presence under
police control, the police officer has an obligation to prove that his/her treatment of the detainee
complied with the requirements of law. Accordingly, documenting legal measures taken against the
detainee, especially in case of the use of force or special equipment, would help to strengthen the sense
of responsibility among police officers and to monitor the fulfillment of statutory obligations by them.
203
Order No. 53 of the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia on the file systems of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
of Georgia and the term of keeping the data, January 23, 2015.
204 For more information, see the chapter on ill-treatment.
75
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents