The Public Defender Demands Dismissal of Investigators from their Duties

The Public Defender Demands Dismissal of Investigators from their Duties

Tbilisi. 26.02.06. Media News.

Sozar Subar, the Public Defender of Georgia, expressed his concern and indignation regarding an incident which took place in Tskaltubo on February 22. At 6.00pm. During the incident, law enforcement officers detained suspects Mzia Dangadze and Vakhtang Gvelesiani with their children and held them all until 3am. 

Meliko Iobadze, an investigator of the Tskaltubo Division of the Ministry of Interior, detained the aforementioned persons for violating Article 181 of the Criminal Code. The relatives state that the suspects’ children were confined to a building.

According to the police officers, the reason for the children’s detention was the absence of anybody who could take care of them. However, Teona Kuchava, a representative of the Ombudsman in the Imereti region, stated that the grandmother and aunt of the children were at home, when the Police detained the children’s parents. Consequently, the act of taking the children by force to the police station was a criminal offense.

The Public Defender stated that the law enforcement officers violated the personal immunity of the children and thus violated both domestic and international law.

The Public Defender addressed the Chief of General Inspection for the Ministry of Interior, Vasil Sanodze, requesting that an inquiry be launched into investigator Meliko Iobadze and those police officers who took part in the operation. He also requested that disciplinary penalties be imposed upon them and they be dismissed from their duties during the investigation process.

The Public Defender hopes that sufficient action will be taken against those who have violated the rights of the children.