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Convicted woman appealed the European Court of Human Rights

May 30, 2019
 
Human Rights Center sent application to the European Court of Human Rights to restore the breached rights of Ketevan Khmaladze, the convicted woman. 

Police officers tortured and inhumanly treated Ketevan Khmaladze during the detention, which took place on January 13, 2016 in Akhaltsikhe. Consequently, HRC believes that her rights guaranteed under the Articles 3, 6, 13 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights were breached. The State could not effectively investigate the torture and inhuman treatment facts of Ketevan Khmaladze that significantly damaged her health. At the same time, the State has not yet granted victim status to the convicted woman. 

The State has not created the mechanism of impartial investigation and defense, which could effectively prevent torture facts, ensure impartial investigation and lawful consequences of similar facts. 

In accordance to the reports of the Public Defender of Georgia and the National Prevention Mechanism, in 2015 the number of ill-treatment facts of the citizens by police officers significantly increased. It was systemic problem that during the detention police officers used the physical harassment methods to obtain confession statements from the detainees. With this motive, the video-monitoring is not available in the penitentiary and police units while the testimonies of the victims are not sufficient evidence to grant victim status to them. 

The faulty practice of torture and inhuman treatment of the detainees was described in the documentary film of Human Rights Center “Offender Law Enforcement Officers,” where convicted Ketevan Khmaladze described the violent acts conducted against her.

With the submitted application, HRC requests the ECtHR to consider and determine violation of the Article 3 of the Convention, which prohibits torture, degrading and inhuman treatment for the purpose of obtaining the confession statement. Several dozen police officers tortured, degraded and inhumanly treated Ketevan Khmaladze in the presence of her underage child. 

HRC believes that her right guaranteed under the Article 14 of the Convention was also violated, which prohibits discrimination. Policemen insulted Ketevan Khmaladze because she was a woman and this fact was not investigated. The violent methods used by the police officers were insulting and degrading. 

On May 23, 2019, the Akhaltsikhe district court finally refused Ketevan Khmaladze to grant the official victim status. 

Considering all abovementioned circumstances, Ketevan Khmaladze’s right to fair trial was violated; the victim of torture applied to all domestic mechanisms to defend her rights but all in vain. 

Human Rights Center 

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