Government, the CPT mentioned that lack of video control rendered fixation of various
facts of collective beatings and violence impossible thereby hindering prevention of
ill-treatment.38
Further, it should be noted that the Smart Reception Unit is used to accommodate
newly admitted prisoners, while the law does not envisage moving prisoners already
allocated to their residential cells back to the Smart Reception Unit. Because it
happened once, there is a risk that the practice of moving prisoners from their cells
to the Smart Reception Unit will become recurrent. It is necessary to mention that
this Unit is located in a part of the building where the so-called “greeting by beating”
of the inmates was happening before they would be sent to their cells and hence it
is necessary, for the prevention of these criminal practices, to establish a constant
and full-fledged video surveillance over this area and to store the recordings for a
reasonable time. Although there is no uniform rule about retention period of such
recordings, our practice analysis shows that video recordings should be kept for a
reasonable time (at least 10 years).
No surveillance cameras are installed on the territory of the Institution no. 14, as
we learnt during our visit to that institution.39 We would like to note once again that
lack of video control hinders fixation, investigation and timely prevention of various
incidents at places of shared use.
RECOMMENDATIONS
To the Minister of Corrections:
•• Develop and implement a new injury registration form that would be compatible with the requirements prescribed by the Istanbul Protocol, in particular a form that will allow entering more detailed information about prisoner injuries;
��• Conduct intensive training for the penitentiary healthcare staff in documenting ill-treatment;
•• Take all reasonable measures, including by providing relevant training and
instruction, to ensure that conversation between the healthcare staff and
prisoners takes place with full respect for the confidentiality principle;
•• Ensure that each time doctors discover signs of ill-treatment the case gets
reported to the investigative authorities;
•• Enact an new normative act or amend the existing one introducing an ob38
39
Report to the Turkish Government on the visit to Turkey carried out by the European Committee for
the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 21 to 28
June 2012 available at: http://www.cpt.coe.int/documents/tur/2013-27-inf-eng.htm [last viewed
23.03.2015].
The Public Defender’s 2014 Report on its Visit to the Penitentiary Institution No. 14, p. 3, accessible
at http://www.ombudsman.ge/uploads/other/2/2196.pdf [last viewed 23.03.2015].
32 NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM OF GEORGIA
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