On 20 February 2017, at the session of the Parliament’s Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Shalva Khutsishvili spoke about the implementation of the recommendations set out in the Parliament’s resolution of June 24, 2016, following the Public Defender’sReport on the Situation of Human Rights and Freedoms in Georgia in 2015.

The Public Defenderbelieves that the large part of the recommendations can be considered only partially implemented. Among them is the recommendation on the strict supervision of the legality of the detention of a person and application of legal measures in case of disciplinary offences. Despite the provided information that examination is instantly conducted when notifications are received about any misconduct by police officers during the detention of a person and that notifications are sent to the Prosecutor's Office in case of signs of a crime, the Public Defender considers that the issue of the study of lawfulness of detentions is still a problem and the recommendation can be considered only partially fulfilled. The Public Defender’s Office studied a case where a person was arrested, handcuffed and taken to a police station by police, while according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the person was only taken to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the questioned as a witness.

It is welcome that a new instruction of medical service was approved at the temporary detention facilities, which is attached by a medical examination form developed within the joint program of the European Union and the Council of Europe. However, it should be noted that this form will be used only in the facilities where doctors are employed, whereas the recommendation referred to the comprehensive description and documentation of a detainee’s body injuries during each medical examination in compliance with the Istanbul Protocol.

The recommendation on the effective delivery of information about the detainee’s right to be protected from ill-treatment during placing him/her in the temporary detention facilities and places of administrative detention, has been partially implemented, since, detainees need more detailed, written and understandable information.

The Ministry is working on the implementation of the recommendation referring to the timely medical examination, treatment and forensic examination (if necessary) of the detainees in the temporary detention facilities and places of administrative detention in case of alleged cases of torture and inhuman treatment. It should be noted that detainees placed in temporary detention facilitiesare mainly provided with medical service, though, the implementation of the Istanbul Protocol is important for the documentation of ill-treatment.

The recommendation on the clear definition of the instruction (by relevant bylaws) of sending a notification to the Prosecutor's Office about body injuries of the detainees during placing them in the temporary detention facilities has been partially fulfilled. Although an obligation for sending a notification was determined, the practice shows that it is necessary to introduce clearer instructions. For example, according to the analysis of 578 cases, notifications were not sent in 111 cases, despite the detainee's visible injuries.

Surveillance cameras have been installed in all temporary detention facilities following the Public Defender’s recommendation, but police divisions and stations have not been fully equipped so far; in some cases the cameras have beeninstalled only at the entrance to the building.

The recommendation on the determination of the obligation of the use of body cameras by police officers while communicating with citizens and the term and rule of keeping the recordings has not been implemented. According to the Ministry of internal Affairs, the Code of Administrative Offenses and the order of the Minister of Internal Affairs have established the right (but not the obligation) to use body cameras by patrol-inspectors. The rule and term of keeping the recordings depend on the technical characteristics of the device and its preliminary determination is impossible.

The Public Defender's recommendation concerned making amendments to the relevant normative act to impose the obligation of the use of body cameras and to define the term of retention of the recording. Recordings of body video cameras are the most important evidence during the consideration of administrative offences.

The recommendation on making video recordings by surveillance system in temporary detention facilities and retention of the recordings for a reasonable period has not been implemented. Pursuant to the applicable rules of making, archiving and deleting the recordings, the recordings shall be kept for at least 24 hours, which according to the Public Defender, is not a reasonable period of time.

The recommendation on the introduction of the confidential complaints mechanism in the temporary detention facilities is being successfully implemented.

There still remain some flaws, but it can be said that the recommendation on the adoption of measures (including its inspection) for proper documentation is being implemented.

Among the unimplemented recommendations is the one referring to adding columns to the administrative arrest protocol in order to provide the following information: the time of drawing up the protocol, description of the detainee's body injuries, the circumstances under which the person was detained, whether or not the person resisted during the detention, whether or not the proportional measure of coercion was used and what was the form of the measure used.

The Public Defender welcomes the repair of the temporary detention facilities aimed at improving the infrastructure and living conditions in accordance with his recommendation. However, current conditions still need significant improvement in order to be brought in compliance with international standards.

According to the Deputy Minister, in accordance with the Public Defender’s recommendation, the Ministry conducts a variety of training courses for police officers in order to prevent torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. However, more in-depth training is needed. It is also unknown how the practical realization of the knowledge gained during the training is checked.

Some steps were taken in terms of training the Ministry staff for ensuring proper documentation. Special short-term training program was held for the staff of temporary detention facilities at the Police Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Public Defender hopes that similar training will be conducted for the employees of the police divisions, departments and stations.

It should be emphasized that no necessary measures were taken for the identification of children living and working on the street and for cooperation with the Social Service Agency in this field. Low awareness of police officers is also clear.

Despite some progress, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has not developed guidelines for responding to the cases of early marriage; district inspectors do not act proactively to identify and prevent the cases of early marriage.

We welcome the fact that the number of complaints about domestic violence has been increased. Campaigns have also been planned to eliminate this problem. However, it should be noted that the Ministry of Internal Affairs has not carried out any particular efforts to assess the risk of domestic violence, to develop a mechanism for monitoring the cases of violence and to monitor the performance of legislative duties by the employees of the Ministry.

The study of the cases shows that law enforcement officers find it difficult to identify gender-based violence, especially psychological violence and threats; they focus only on visible physical injuries and respond to the cases only after offenders physically harm or kill victims.

A particular problem is identification of violence committed against vulnerable groups and monitoring of the measures taken for the elimination of such violence. It is concerning that the Ministry of internal Affairs finds it difficult to detect the cases of domestic violence committed against persons with mental health problems and the fact that it does not cooperate with the Social Service Agency in this field.