facilities shows, the meeting between prisoners and doctors is always attended by a legal regime and/or security officer, who can hear the conversation between prisoners and doctors.76 Informed consent: Order No. 131 of the Minister of Corrections of 26 October 2016 defines informed consent of a prisoner as a mandatory condition for filling out the injury chart. This hinders the effective use of this mechanism, as victims of torture or inhuman and degrading treatment are in more vulnerable position in the penitentiary facilities and avoid exposing the cases of violence, as they are afraid of revenge. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, in its report on the visit to Georgia, calls on the Government of Georgia to amend its regulations so that to oblige a doctor, when he/she suspects an alleged torture or ill-treatment towards a prisoner or among prisoners, to document the injuries by filling in charts and taking photos, and to send them to an investigative body, regardless of having the consent of the alleged victim.77 The Public Defender has been stressing for years that the investigation of alleged ill-treatment remains a major challenge for the investigative system.78 It should be noted that in its 2018 report, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture also highlights the issue of ineffective investigation, including the fact that initial investigatory steps were still as a rule performed by staff of investigative departments of the respective Ministries (i.e. by colleagues of incriminated/suspected officials, working for the same Ministry), with the Prosecutor’s Office only becoming directly involved at a later stage (mostly in higher-profile cases, as from the moment the case had caused ‘enough’ stir in public opinion, the media and civil society). In addition, the Committee points out frequent delays in collecting and securing evidence, as well as the fact that investigations were initiated under inappropriate articles of the Criminal Code, e.g. Article 333 instead of Articles 1441 and 1443 and the short (5-day) term of keeping video recordings by the penitentiary facilities. Moreover, the report reads that the suspected law enforcement and prison officers were usually not suspended from their duties and no action was taken to protect potential victims from being pressured and intimidated, and forced to change their testimonies.79 According to the information provided by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, if there is a suspicion that torture, other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of a prisoner was committed by a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, penitentiary facility, escort group or other investigative body, the 76 The Special Preventive Group witnessed such incidents in closed facilities. It also received information about similar practices from prisoners. 77 Report (CPT/Inf (2019) 16) of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture on its visit paid to Georgia on September 10-21, 2018, para. 80, available in English at: <https://rm.coe.int/1680945eca> [last accessed: 15.01.20]. 78 The special report of the Public Defender of Georgia on the effectiveness of investigation of criminal cases of ill-treatment, available at: <http://www.ombudsman.ge/res/docs/2019062010290661060.pdf> [last accessed: 17.02.2020]. 79 Report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture on its visit paid to Georgia in September, para. 13-15: <https://rm.coe.int/1680945eca> [last accessed: 30.01.20]. 42