Today, on 10th of February, Open Society Georgia Foundation published its research report on the legal status of detainees. In 2014-2015, several hired independent experts examined the legal status of the detainees and elaborated recommendations on the basis of identified shortcomings. During 1 month, three police stations in Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Telavi have been monitored by a group of experts, and this process has been observed and police officers and lawyers have been interviewed during the next 1 month. At the same time, existing information and legislation has been analyzed. The monitoring of three police stations has been conducted on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Open Society Foundations have conducted similar surveys in Moldova and Ukraine. On February 10, a preliminary presentation of reports of Moldova and Ukraine has been also conducted along with the presentation of Georgian report, as this was a great opportunity to compare existing situation in these three countries. “”Given that this survey has been conducted simultaneously in three countries, we used the term – “suspects” as its title, even though Georgian Legislation no longer uses it and instead uses a common term for all cases like – “accused” – said Nika Jeiranashvili, human rights program manager at the Open Society Georgia Foundation.
Issues examined during the study are:
- Detention standards, i.e. compliance with established procedures by the detaining power. There is a practice of detention during which suspected persons are taken to the police station just for “interview” and only after a few hours later, they are informed about their detention;
- Practical implementation of the right of access to interpreter and translation. Many shortcomings have been revealed in regard to this issue, including translation-related problems due to which many defendants are not able to be fully involved in the process;
Detainees’ access to legal aid. Many of the examined cases revealed that the defendants did not use the services of an attorney during the primary questioning that subsequently complicates the right to defense and it becomes impossible to eliminate the numerous procedural gaps. One of the recommendations of the report is to establish a proper new plan for the implementation of legal aid for the first hours of detention (whether it be a telephone consultation or any other);- Right to information – i.e. how properly are the rights explained by law enforcement agencies during the implementation of the arrest;
- Practical implementation of the right to remain silent;
- Practical implementation of the right of detainees to medical care;
- Proper implementation of the procedures established for the detention of the representatives of vulnerable groups (for instance, minors, persons with disabilities and others).
All these issues are analyzed at the practical and legislative level, on the basis of which specific recommendations and ways of solving the problems are proposed to the relevant state bodies.
See the report “Procedural Rights of Suspects in Georgia.”
Media on this topic:
Live broadcast of Imedi TV – ‘Kronika’ at 11.
Open Society Georgia Foundation – detainees are taken to Police Stations instead of detention facilities, which is a significant flaw – InterPressNews, February 10, at 11:14