Human Rights Center Calls on the Ministry of Corrections to Deny the Spread Disinformation

Human Rights Center protests the dissemination of false information by the Ministry of Corrections through the news program of TV-Company Imedi on July 6.

On July 6, during the press-conference, executive director of Human Rights Center and chairman of the Georgian Bar Association spoke about the interference in the professional activities of attorneys in the prison # 7 and prison # 18 on July 1 and 5 (respectively). Journalists of different media organizations interviewed the lawyers of Human Rights Center, whose rights were breached by the prison personnel when they performed their advocacy activities.

Human Rights Center and Georgian Bar Association condemn the malicious practice in penitentiary establishments when prison officers demand the lawyers to present them the notes they made during the meetings with their accused/convicted clients in prison. The leaders of the organizations called on the Minister of Corrections to get interested in the situation and take immediate measures to combat the malicious practice of interfering in the activities of lawyers in penitentiary establishments.

Instead studying real situation about the case, head of the legal department of the Ministry Sandro Darakhvelidze told TV-Company Imedi false information as if the Human Rights Center’s lawyer had visited the prison to meet “famous” “high risk prisoner” Shalva Abuladze, who had handed a piece of paper to the lawyer and the lawyer tried to leave the facility with it. 

The information disseminated by the Ministry of Corrections is absolutely false. None of the lawyers of Human Rights Center had visited Shalva Abuladze in prison. Moreover, Human Rights Center does not provide Abuladze with legal aid. In neither case, which was mentioned during the press-conference, prisoners did not try to give any piece of paper to the lawyer and neither the lawyer tried to leave the facility with it. 

On July 1 lawyer Nestan Londaridze met convicted Gocha Ts. in prison # 7. On July 5, lawyer Eka Lomidze met convicted Zurab K in prison # 18. In both cases the lawyers made notes about the future advocacy activities in the prisoners’ cases. The prison personnel demanded the lawyers to show the notes but the attorneys refused. 

At the same time, it should be noted that even high risk possibility does not allow prison personnel to control and conduct illegal surveillance of the meeting between attorneys and convicts except the control mechanisms set by the law.

Human Rights Center calls on the Minister of Corrections and Legal Department of the Ministry to start investigation into the facts of hindering professional activities of the lawyers in prisons # 7 and # 18 on July 1 and 5. At the same time, the Ministry shall immediately archive the video-recordings from the cameras installed in the watch-room, entrance and the room of visual search of lawyers of the facility; also the recordings from the cameras in the meeting room of the lawyer and the convict as evidence of the abovementioned allegation. 

Human Rights Center demands the Ministry of Corrections to deny the false information they have disseminated as if the organization’s lawyer had visited the convicted Shalva Abuladze and had tried to leave the custody with “piece of paper.” 

Human Rights Center