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Statement of the Interior Ministry Does Not Conform to Reality

August 5, 2004

Statement of the Interior Ministry Does Not Conform to Reality

According to Media News on August 3, 2004 the Interior Ministry disseminated information regarding the results of the office inspection conducted by the General Inspection of the Interior Ministry. This inspection dealt with articles published in newspapers: “Akhali Taoba,” “Alia,” “Resonance,” “Kviris Palitra;” and having the following headlines: -“Police Again Tortures Prisoners,” “Night Chase for Extortioner Policemen“ “Police Has Killed Two People by Torture” and “Habit Is Stronger Than Faith.”

As far as in some of the above-mentioned articles the materials of Human Rights Information and Documentation Center were published, we find ourselves obliged to express our stance with regard to the information spread by the Interior Ministry.

We can see from the statement of the Interior Ministry  “the new ways” of police work today. Not a single criminal case has been launched against the policemen for the injuries inflicted by them. The prosecutor’s office did not manage to name and estimate their insult and did not consider it illegal and punishable. Fate of policemen’s posts is also uncertain und vague, i.e. this case belongs to the category of cases, which had finished with the approved methods of the Prosecutor’s Office and the Interior Ministry.

Furthermore, materials of the inspection have been excluded from the case of George Lobzhanidze’s torture on the ground that the latter refused to give any explanations and did not sign the protocol. It should be taken into consideration, that as a result of torture inflicted on George Lobzhanidze, he sustained the most serious injuries, he can hardly speak and the trace of torture with electric shock is also noticeable on his body. This has been confirmed by expert Maia Nikoleishvili’s conclusion.

It is an imperative demand of the Georgian Criminal Code to conduct expertise with the aim of identifying the quality of bodily injuries. The case must have had legal proceedings notwithstanding the fact whether Lobzhanidze gave explanations or not. Besides, there is one question which remains unanswered as usual: who are guilty policemen and why are they not punished according to the law. If there is a fact of torture then why is there no criminal revealed?

As for the cases of Mikheil Taloevi, Kakha Melikidze, Kakha Kipiani, Akaki Abzianidze and already deceased Giorgi Inasaridze and Khvicha Kvirikashvili, which were sent to Prosecutor’s Offices and Courts for legal overview and final decisions we have a strong ground to believe that the cases have been concealed and not investigated properly; we think so proceeding from the above-mentioned approved methods of concealing cases used by the law  enforcements. The General Inspection of the Interior Ministry dismissed or demoted the staff revealed in torturing or extortion of people. There is one more question that arises: if the staff of the Interior Ministry are guilty in the death of the two people then why hasn’t stricter measures been taken against them? Such actions are strictly punishable according to the Georgian Criminal Code; and if they had nothing to do with the facts then why were they dismissed or demoted?

The case of Bondo Tutashvili was also dealt with the approved method, as he “has forgotten” the injuries inflicted by the policemen and he does not have any complaints against them. It is not difficult to guess the reason why he has made such a statement.

The topics covered in the above-mentioned articles still remain actual. By making such statements the Interior Ministry is trying to convince people that the police is working with new methods, though the facts mentioned above prove the opposite.

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