14.03.2007 - Source: International Federation for Human Rights

On June 29, 2006, several members of the Egalitarian Institute were arrested on the order of the Tbilisi Court of Appeal, while demonstrating outside the Court; they were sentenced by the Court of Appeal without a hearing to 30 days in administrative detention ("2006 Annual Report of the Observatory") [ID 19521]

"On June 29, 2006, Messrs. Irakli Kakabadze, Zurab Rtveliashvili, Lasha Chkhartishvili, Jaba Jishkariani and Davit Dalakishvili, members of the Egalitarian Institute, were arrested on the order of the Tbilisi Court of Appeal, while demonstrating outside the Court to call for the release of Messrs. Shalva Ramishvili and David Kokhreidze, co-founders and shareholders of the independent television channel TV 202. They had been sentenced to four and three years in prison respectively on March 29, 2006 in respect of charges of “extortion” which were most likely fabricated.  

The five members of the Institute were sentenced by the Court of Appeal without a hearing to 30 days in administrative detention, on the charge of “disorder in a Court” (Article 208 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). They were detained in the pre-trial detention centre of the Ministry of the Interior."

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06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

The government did not always observe the prohibitions of arbitrary arrest or detention; police continued to detain persons without warrants ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19323]

For details, please refer to the original document

"By law a person can only be arrested upon sufficient evidence and with a warrant. Judges issued warrants and detention orders; they could be obtained post facto and usually were. In practice police continued to detain persons without warrants. NGOs stated that reports of police planting drugs or weapons in order to make an arrest declined. The prosecutor general's office is the only body authorized to engage directly with the courts.  

NGOs criticized a February statement by President Saakashvili criticizing judges for showing what he called "too much mercy" towards criminal suspects and calling for a "zero tolerance" policy toward all crime in order to address the high crime rate which has burdened the country since independence. NGOs including HRW said that the President's statement violated the presumption of innocence, resulted in the surge in the alleged use of excessive force by police during arrests, and pressured judges to impose detention as a pretrial measure for individuals accused of even minor crimes."

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29.09.2006 - Source: International Federation for Human Rights

New cases of arbitrary arrest and detention of 4 members of “Egalitarian Institute”, a newly-established Georgian NGO composed of human rights defenders, writers and intellectuals ("Arbitrary detention - GEO 004 / 0606 / OBS 085.1") [ID 17594]

"[I]n the evening of September 27, 2006, Mr. Irakli Kakabadze, Mr. Jaba Jishkarinani, Mr. David Dalakishvili and Mr. Levan Gogichaishvili, all members of the Egalitarian Institute, were arrested by patrol policemen in the Drug Centre Building in Tbilisi. They were demonstrating against the recurrent detention of some Institute members, as well as the lack of independence of the judiciary, in particular of the Court of Appeal. They also called for an impartial investigation into the murder of Mr. Sandro Gorgvliani, a young banker whose death is allegedly linked to high-ranking officials in the Ministry of the Interior. [...]

On June 29, 2006, five members of the Egalitarian Institute were arbitrarily arrested and subsequently detained while they were demonstrating outside the Court of Appeal of Tbilisi. Indeed, Mr. Irakli Kakabadze, Mr. Zurab Rtveliashvili, Mr. Lasha Chkhartishvili, Mr. Jaba Jishkariani and Mr. David Dalakishvili were arrested upon order of the Head of the Appellate Court of Tbilisi, while they were calling for the release of Mr. Shalva Ramishvili and Mr. David Kokhreidze, co-founders and shareholders of the independent TV company TV 202, which, in particular, broadcasts a programme called “Debatebi” (debates), dealing with issues like government corruption or lack of reform in favour of democracy. The two men were respectively sentenced to four and three years of prison for “extortion” on March 29, 2006, on the basis of fabricated charges. They had been arrested on August 27, 2005. The five men were immediately sentenced to 30 days of administrative imprisonment, without any Court hearing, by Ms. Eka Tkeshelashvili, the Head of the Court of Appeals, for “staging disorders in a court”(Article 208 of the Criminal Procedural Code), and brought to the pre-trial detention centre of the Ministry of Interior. They were all released at an unknown date.

In its appeal, the Observatory pointed out that Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code only envisages responsibility for disorders in the Court building, though the demonstrators were staying outside. In addition, this sentence blatantly contradicts the Constitution of Georgia as well as the European Convention on Human Rights as, pursuant to Article 208 of Criminal Code Procedure of Georgia, it was taken without any oral hearing and cannot be appealed."

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09.2006 - Source: World Organisation Against Torture

Criminal Procedure Code allows for prolonged detention from the moment of indictment until court hearing; allegedly, employees of Equality institute were detained arbitrarily; in another case Sultan Molashvili was detained in pre-trial detention for 16 months ("Human Rights Violations in Georgia; Alternative Report to the United Nations Committee Against Torture") [ID 17920]

For more examples of arbitrary detention please refer to the original document

"Regretfully, the practice of arbitrary detention, backed up by provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, still prevails in Georgia. Article 162 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, regulating the term of detention, in effect legalises its arbitrary nature. According to Article 162, the term of detention is suspended from the moment when the case, after the drawing up of an act of indictment, is submitted before the Court. After delivering cumulative sentences on the last case being under his or her consideration, the judge has 14 days to hear the case. Until then, though being detained, the indicted individual is not considered a prisoner and according to Article 162, has no status at all. In other words s/he is arbitrary detained. Georgia carries out the prevalent practice of arbitrary detentions. Law- enforcement officials often detain people without court warrants, frequently violating the law on the maximum age of detention, followed by procedural violations such as failure to bring detainees personally before a judge to determine the legal nature of detention, failure to notify family members of detainees and restricted access to lawyers. [...] According to information from Thea Tutberidze, member of the NGO “Liberty Institute”, employees of the Ministry of Interior of Shida Kartli have illegally detained twelve persons who were also deprived access to a lawyer. “We had to go to Gori (city in Shida Kartli) at 12pm for that reason. Some of the detainees were released before our arrival and only two of them remained in detention,” mentioned Thea Tutberidze at the press-conference. According to her, Vladimer Jugeli, head of the regional police department, claimed that the two mentioned persons were in the police pre-detention department by their own will and did not demand any access to lawyers. “Finally, those two persons were released but in accordance with Jugeli’s orders, they sat in the car without saying a word to us.” Sulkhan Molashvili remains an illegal prisoner Sulkhan Molashivili, ex-chairman of the Chamber of Control was arrested in April 2004 and charged with abuse of power and with causing financial damage to the State budget. On 5 August 2005, criminal court proceedings against Sulkhan Molashvili were resumed, at a time when both his lawyers were absent on vacation. The case was handed over to Taimuraz Nemsadze who requested an adjournment of 30 days in order to study the case in detail in accordance with Article 429(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code. The judge rejected this request and granted Molashivili’s lawyer only 5 days to become familiar with his case file consisting of 25 volumes, each volume containing 500 pages. Prosecutor Manana Musulishvili commented that this request was a purposeful attempt by the defence to delay the court proceedings; stating “evidence to prove his guilt is abundant, that’s why they attempt to prolong the court session.” Sulkhan Molashivili expressed disbelief upon the Prosecutor’s accusation, as in fact he had eagerly been awaiting the start of the court procedure since December. Moreover, he was held in pre-trial detention for 16 months, surpassing the maximum period of 9 months deemed legal by current Georgian legislation. Aggravated by the situation, Molashivili had stated that if conditions continued in such a manner he would refuse to have a defence at all and hand over his fate to the judge and prosecutor, exclaiming “even animals are not treated like this”."

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30.06.2006 - Source: World Organisation Against Torture

5 members of Georgian NGO Equality Institute arbitrarily arrested and detained while demonstrating outside Court of Appeal of Tbilisi, calling for release of co-funders of independent TV company TV 202 ("Arbitrary detention of five members of the "Equality Institute" [GEO 004 / 0606 / OBS 085]") [ID 15584]

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05.04.2006 - Source: World Organisation Against Torture

President of Caucasus Centre for Protection of Conscience and Religious Persuasion Freedom (CCPCRPF) in Georgia reportedly arbitrarily arrested ("Georgia: Arbitrary detention of Mr. Azer Samedov [GEO 002 / 0406 / 043]") [#48481], [ID 4892]

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10.2005 - Source: UK Home Office

During 2004 impunity, arbitrary arrests and detention remained problems; judiciary system still lacked true independence and there were lenghty delays in trials ("Operation Guidance Note: Georgia") [#39388], [ID 4893]

"2.11 Arbitrary arrest and detention remained problems, as did lack of accountability and police misconduct, such as the fabrication or planting of evidence, also remained problems. Impunity remained a problem, particularly in outlying regions however, during 2004, there were several cases of police officers brought to trial, dismissed, or demoted for abuses and corruption in law enforcement agencies decreased. The judiciary system continued to lack true independence, and the executive branch and prosecutors' offices continued to exert undue influence on judges. There were lengthy delays in trials, and prolonged pre-trial detention remained a problem."

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19.05.2005 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

In 2004, the number of cases of torture, ill-treatment and inhuman and degrading treatment as well as arbitrary detentions increased further ("Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2005 (Events of 2004)") [#32106], [ID 4894]

"Torture and ill-treatment were among the central human rights concerns during the Shevardnadze era. In 2004, the number of cases of torture, ill-treatment and inhuman and degrading treatment as well as arbitrary detentions increased further. While in some areas of law enforcement improvements were reported, it appeared that the authorities and police officers were willing to sacrifice the right to physical integrity for efficiency in the fight against criminality. In addition, the practice of isolating detainees, restricting access to family and defense counsel, and denying detainees the representation of a lawyer of their choice were still common in Georgia in 2004."

Document(s): Open document

12.2004 - Source: Human Rights Center

There are occurences of people detained without a court warrant and suspects being beaten, isolated or having restricted access to families and defence counsels ("One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Human Rights in Georgia after the “Rose Revolution”") [#27594], [ID 4895]

For a documentation of individual cases please refer to the original document

"Summary information on arbitrary detentions

Georgia has prevalent practice of Arbitrary Detentions. Law-enforcements often detain people without court warrant, with violating the law on maximum age of detention which is also often followed by procedural violations such as the failure to bring detainees personally before a judge when deciding on detention, the failure to notify family members of the detention and the restricted access to lawyers.
Along with torture and beating of the suspects, planting of false evidences, such as drugs or weapons, isolating detainees, restricting access to family and defense counsel are still common in Georgia."

Document(s): Open document

13.09.2001 - Source: Council of Europe - Parliamentary Assembly

Council of Europe: Arrests of persons not always recorded by the police ("Honouring of obligations and commitments by Georgia [Doc. 9191]") [#10653], [ID 4896]

"114. In respect of legislation, Council of Europe experts have raised doubts as to the compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights of the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure which allow for the police to arrest and detain in custody a person for twelve hours without informing him or her of the reasons of his or her detention. During this time, the person has no access to a lawyer.

115. What is even more worrying is that we have received allegations that in practice the police often does not record the arrest so that the time-limit of twelve hours does not even start running. In other cases, at the expiry of the twelve-hour period, the person under arrest is not told that he or she has the right to contact a lawyer, and those who already have a lawyer are not allowed to call him or her. In this way, detainees often do not have access to a lawyer within 48 hours (when they appear before a judge).

116. As regards the commitment “to implement within six months after its accession the right of a detainee to choose his (own) lawyer”, practising lawyers told us that there has been no progress. The same practical problems identified by the eminent lawyers[7] continue to exist, since the cause is not lack of legislation but lack of implementation. Defence lawyers suspect that tactics to restrict access to, or manipulate the choice of, a lawyer are intended to avoid allegations of torture, to keep abusive officials from being prosecuted, or to prevent individuals who have signed false testimony or confession from proving later that it was obtained through torture.

117. Another problem seems to be that after arrest the maximum period of 72 hours within which the detainee must be transferred from the police station to a pre-trial detention centre (under the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice) is not always respected, with all the consequences that this might have for the treatment of the detainee at the police station.

118. Regarding Georgia’s commitment “to respect the maximum length of preventive detention”, we have been informed by practising lawyers that often the maximum time-limit of nine months is not respected in practice. We also met detainees in the pre-trial detention centre who had been waiting for trial for a year or more."

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