! ! Mr!Mikheil!Saakashvili! President!of!Georgia! 1!M.!Abdushelishvili!Street,!0103!Tbilisi,!Georgia! ! Ms!Eka!Zguladze! Minister!of!Interior! Gulua!Str.!N10,!Kakheti!Highway!38!km,!0190!Tbilisi,!Georgia! ! Mr!Murtaz!Zodelava! Prosecutor!General! Gorgasali!St.!24A,!Tbilisi,!Georgia!! ! Mr!Zurab!Adeishvili! Minister!of!Justice! Gorgasali!St.!24A,!Tbilisi,!Georgia!! ! ! 24!September!2012! ! ! ! ! Re:!Concern!about!torture!and!ill!treatment!in!Georgian!prisons! ! To!the!President!of!Georgia,!Mr!Saakashvili! ! We,!members!and!partners!of!Human!Rights!House!Network,!are!very!concerned!about!footage! of!torture!and!ill!treatment!in!Georgian!prisons,!and!call!upon!the!Georgian!authorities!to!carry! out!without!delay!independent,!impartial!and!effective!investigations!of!all!allegations!related! to!inhuman!treatment!in!the!entire!penitentiary!system.! ! On!18!September!2012,!several!videos!were!released!on!the!Internet!and!Georgian!TV!showing!torture! and!cruel,!inhuman,!and!degrading!treatments!in!a!Georgian!prison.!The!videos!demonstrated!how!the! personnel! of! the! Gldani! prison! No! 8,! senior! officers! of! the! custody! and! penitentiary! department,! tortured!inmates1.!!The!videos!have!resulted!in!big!protests!in!Tbilisi!and!other!Georgian!cities.!! !! The! acts! shown! in! the! video! are! examples! of! torture! in! the! Georgian! prison! system,! which! human! rights!organizations!have!been!reporting!on!for!several!years.!These!incidents!can!therefore!not!be! seen!as!individual!cases!of!torture!and!ill!treatment!but!as!systematic!violations.! ! Members! of! the! Human! Rights! House! Tbilisi,! namely! Human! Rights! Center,! Article! 42! of! the! Constitution,! and! Georgian! Center! for! the! Rehabilitation! of! Torture! Victims! have! for! years! been! providing!legal!assistance!and!psychological!and!medical!aid!to!prisoners.!Torture!cases!documented! by!the!Georgian!Young!Lawyers’!Association,!Human!Rights!Center,!Article!42!of!the!Constitution!and! other! human! rights! organizations,! as! well! as! the! Office! of! the! Public! Defender,! have! not! been! investigated!so!far2.!!Article!42!has!sent!multiple!cases!to!the!European!Court!of!Human!Rights!(ECHR)! alleging! torture! and! cruel! and! inhuman! treatment!in! Georgian! prisons,! where! the! ECHR!stated!that!

1!Among!other!things!the!videos!show!prison!guards!raping!an!inmate!with!a!broomstick!and!several!prison!guards!beating! two!inmates!witnessed!by!guards!and!other!inmates.!!An!additional!video!was!released!on!September!19!that!shows!prison! guards!beating!and!threatening!a!juvenile!inmate.! 2!A!joint!appeal!to!the!Public!Defender!of!Georgia!was!sent!by!700!inmates!of!Ksani!Prison!#!15!in!2012!reporting!of! mistreatment!and!physical!abuses!by!prison!guards.!

Georgian!authorities!have!violated!article!3!of!the!European!Convention!of!Human!Rights!due!to!failure! to! investigate! allegations! of! ill^treatment3.! Numerous! national! and! international! observers! have! brought!the!prevalence!of!prison!abuse!to!the!government’s!attention;!however,!the!government!has! failed!to!respond4.!! ! The!Public!Defender!of!Georgia!has!published!a!National!Prevention!Mechanism!special!report!stating! that!the!mortality!rate!among!prisoners!has!increased!and!inmates!are!still!ill^treated!in!custodies5.!! According!to!human!rights!organizations,!torture!victims!are!pressured!by!prison!authorities!to!drop! their! appeals.! Prison! administrators! also! intimidate! lawyers! and! prisoners! who! seek! justice,! particularly!when!victims!apply!to!the!European!Court!of!Human!Rights!(ECHR).!! ! The!Georgian!authorities!admitted!to!have!made!a!grave!mistake!and!to!have!neglected!signals!coming! from!the!Public!Defender!and!various!civil!society!groups!about!the!systematic!problems!existing!in! the!Georgian!prison!system.!Government!authorities!stated!that!they!were!conducting!an!investigation! into!the!incidents!and!promised!to!ensure!that!perpetrators!are!brought!to!justice6.!!On!19!September! 2012,! the! Minister! of! Penitentiary! resigned! from! her! post! and! the! current! Public! Defender! was! appointed!as!the!new!Minister7.!!President!Saakashvili!has!ordered!the!police!to!oversee!the!prisons! until! the! prison! staff! is! replaced.! Minister! of! Interior,! who! previously! had! been! accused! of! human! rights!violations!in!prisons!by!human!rights!groups!and!the!opposition,!has!also!resigned.!While!we! welcome!the!political!responsibility!accepted!by!the!two!Ministers,!we!remain!concerned!about!the! investigation!of!the!direct!involvement!or!orders!of!torture!by!these!and!other!high!state!officials.!The! climate!of!impunity!prevailing!so!far!needs!to!be!removed.! ! We!welcome!the!new!Minister!of!Penitentiary’s!statement!in!which!he!announced!that!independent! commissions!monitoring!prisons!will!be!established!and!will!include!representatives!of!civil!society.! Members! of! the! Human! Rights! House! Tbilisi! are! ready! to! assume! the! work! in! the! commissions! immediately,! given! their! expertise! and! knowledge! on! issues! related! to! torture! and! ill^treatment! in! detention!centres.! ! We! are! however! concerned! about! the! use! of! administrative! detention.! From! 21! September! to! 24! September! 2012,! there! were! 23! administrative! arrests! on! charges! of! disobedience! to! the! police! in! several! cities! of! Georgia.! Some! of! the! detainees! are! representatives! of! or! associated! with! the! opposition!coalition!Georgian!Dream.!The!detainees!also!include!persons!actively!involved!in!recent! protest!assemblies,!such!as!Dachi!Tsaguria!and!Beka!Aladashvili,!arrested!on!22!September!2012.! ! ! We!urge!the!Georgian!authorities:! ! • To! promptly! establish! the! independent! commissions! monitoring! prisons! and! provide! all! necessary! administrative! and! financial! support! to! their! work.! The! investigation! shall! be! conducted!with!high!sense!of!accountability!and!publicity;! • To!make!sure!that!the!monitoring!commissions!have!unlimited!access!to!closed!institutions!at! any!time,!in!order!to!ensure!that!the!penitentiary!system!is!permanently!monitored!by!human! rights!organisations;!

3!Letter!from!Article!42!to!the!Subcommittee!on!the!Prevention!of!Torture!and!the!UN!Special!Rapporteur!on!torture!and!ill! treatment,!19!Sept.!2012.! 4!http://dfwatch.net/prisoner^abuse^in^georgia^%E2%80%93^saakashvilis^ticking^time^bomb^57361.! 5!Human!Rights!Georgia!(15!December!2011:!Public!Defender:!“Mortality!rate!among!prisoners!increased”).! 6!Giga!Bokeria,!secretary!of!Georgian!National!Security!Council:!(http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=25229).! 7!http://dfwatch.net/saakashvili^appoints^ombudsman^as^prison^minister^88082.!

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• To! make! sure! that! a! variety! of! NGOs! is! represented! in! the! monitoring! commissions! and! the! process!can!thus!gain!the!trust!of!the!society;! • To!immediately!hold!the!perpetrators!of!torture!and!ill^treatment!accountable!and!bring!them! to!justice;! • To! hold! the! Minister! of! Justice,! the! former! Ministers! of! Interior,! the! former! Minister! of! Penitentiary,! and! the! Chief! Prosecutor! not! only! politically! responsible! but! also! criminally! liable,!when!proven!relevant!by!investigations;! • To!investigate!the!perpetrators!present!in!the!published!videos!on!basis!of!acts!of!torture!and! not!on!the!basis!of!ill^treatment!acts!only;! • To! ensure! that! everyone! can! enjoy! the! right! to! freedom! of! assembly! in! connection! with! the! above^mentioned!events,!and!that!nobody!is!held!in!administrative!detention!due!to!peacefully! protesting,!as!outlined!in!resolution!19/35!of!the!United!Nations!Human!Rights!Council.! ! We! also! call! upon! the! Committee! to! Prevent! Torture! of! Council! of! Europe! and! the! United! Nations!Subcommittee!on!the!Prevention!of!Torture!to!schedule!a!country!visit!to!Georgia!as! soon!as!possible.! ! ! Sincerely,! ! • Armenian!Helsinki!Association! - Journalists’!Club!“Asparez”! - Public!Information!and!Need!of!Knowledge!(PINK!Armenia)! ! - Helsinki!Citizens’!Assembly^!Vanadzor,! ! • Azerbaijan!Human!Rights!House! - Association!for!Protection!of!Women's!Rights!! - Legal!Education!Society! ! - Women’s!Association!for!Rational!Development! ! • Human!Rights!House!Belarus!in!exile!(Vilnius)!

• Human!Rights!House!Sarajevo! ! - Association!of!Female!Citizens!"Renaissance"! ! - Foundation!CURE! ! - Helsinki!Committee!for!Human!Rights!in!Bosnia!and!Herzegovina! ! - Regional!Co^ordinator!for!Youth!Groups! ! - Serb!Civic!Council!! ! - Woman!and!Society!Centre! ! • Human!Rights!House!Zagreb! - APEO/UPIM!Association!for!Promotion!of!Equal!Opportunities!for! ! People!with!Disabilities! ! - Be!Active!Be!Emancipated!B.a.B.e.! ! - Centre!for!Peace!Studies! ! - Documenta!^!Centre!for!Dealing!with!the!Past! ! - GOLJP!^!Civic!Committee!for!Human!Rights! ! - Svitanje!!^!Association!for!Protection!and!Promotion!of!Mental!Health! ! • Human!Rights!House!Tbilisi! - Article!42!of!the!Constitution! ! - The!Caucasian!Centre!for!Human!Rights!and!Conflict!Studies!

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- The!Human!Rights!Centre!Georgia!! - The! Georgian! Center! for! Psychosocial! and! Medical! Rehabilitation! of! Torture!Victims! - Union!Sapari!^!Family!without!Violence! ! ! • Human!Rights!House!Oslo! ! - Health!and!Human!Rights!Info! - Human!Rights!House!Foundation! ! - Norwegian!Helsinki!Committee! ! • FoodFirst!Information!and!Action!Network,!Norway! ! • Belgrade!Centre!for!Human!Rights! ! • Helsinki!Foundation!for!Human!Rights!in!Poland!! ! • Russian!Research!Center!for!Human!Rights! ! • Lawyers’!Committee!for!Human!Rights,!Serbia! ! • Ukrainian!Helsinki!Human!Rights!Union! ! • Index!on!Censorship,!United!Kingdom! ! • Georgian!Young!Lawyer’s!Association! ! • Azerbaijan!Lawyer’s!Association! ! • Human!Rights!Network!Uganda!! ! ! ! Copies!have!been!sent!to:! • The!Directorate!General!of!Human!Rights!and!Legal!Affairs!of!the!Council!of!Europe,!Strasbourg!! • The!Office!of!the!Commissioner!for!Human!Rights!of!the!Council!of!Europe,!Strasbourg! • The! UN! Special! Rapporteur! on! Torture! and! other! Cruel,! Inhuman! or! Degrading! Treatment! or! Punishment,!Geneva! • The! Office! for! Democratic! Institutions! and! Human! Rights! of! the! Organisation! for! Security! and! Cooperation!in!Europe!(OSCE!ODIHR),!Warsaw!! • The!Delegation!of!the!European!Union!in!Georgia! • The!Subcommittee!on!Human!Rights!of!the!European!Parliament,!Brussels! • The!Norwegian!Ministry!of!Foreign!Affairs! • The!Standing!Committee!for!Foreign!Affairs!of!the!Norwegian!Parliament! • The!Norwegian!Embassy!in!Baku! • The!Norwegian!delegation!to!OSCE! • The!Swiss!Ministry!of!Foreign!Affairs! • The!Mission!of!Georgia!to!the!UN!in!Geneva! ! ! About!the!Human!Rights!House!Network!(www.humanrightshouse.org)! The! Human! Rights! House! Network! is! a! forum! of! cooperation! between! established! and! emerging! Human! Rights! Houses,! uniting! 70! NGOs! in! 15! countries! in! Western! Balkans,! Eastern! Europe! and! South! Caucasus,! East! and! Horn! of! Africa,! and! Western! Europe.! HRHN´s! aim! is! to! protect,! strengthen! and! support! human! rights! defenders! and! their! organizations.! The! Human!Rights!House!Foundation,!based!in!Oslo!(Norway)!and!Geneva!(Switzerland),!is!the!secretariat!of!the!Human!Rights! House!Network.!

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