European Committee against tortures and inhuman or humiliating treatment (ECAT): treatment with persons detained by the police in Georgia has improved

European Committee against tortures and inhuman or humiliating treatment (ECAT) welcomes the drastic steps taken by Georgian authorities for avoidance of cruel treatment, as it is emphasized in the report of ECAT.

This September ECAT published a report on its fourth regular visit to Georgia which took place in February, 2010, upon the request of the country's authorities.

As it was stated in the report, "The results of the visit have confirmed that the situation in the sphere of treatment with persons detained by the police in Georgia had significantly improved during several past years.

Nevertheless, it was mentioned in the report that "Georgian authorities should maintain vigilance". 

The Committee recommends Georgian authorities "to continue pursuing the policy of non-tolerance to cruel treatment, including the sphere of everyday training personnel for militia service".

As for the situation in prisons, there are reprimands in the report concerning overpopulation in some penitentiary units and a conscription to Georgian authorities to redouble their efforts in their struggle against overpopulation in prisons by means of accepting a policy aimed at diminution or regulation of the number of convicts.

The Committee has also advised the authorities to revise the quotas of dwelling space per one convict as soon as possible in order to provide at least four square meters per a convict in the penitentiary units.

It was also mentioned in the report that "there is no information on cruel treatment of the personnel of Psychiatry Institute of Tbilisi with the patients though the gradually worsening state of the hospital results is making it unfit for accommodating the patients and brings about conditions which may be estimated as inhuman and dishonoring people", the report runs.

"There are no complaints about the personnel's cruel treatment in the house for patients with mental and physical defects in the village of Dzevri and it produces a positive impression on the whole", "Novosti-Georgia quotes the report.

Gulbaat Rtskhiladze, Head of the Institute of Eurasia in Tbilisi, while commenting on the report of ECAT said that an extremely upsetting situation in the penitentiary system of the country had been brought about. "There have been much talking lately that the conditions of confinement of Georgian convicts were improving. However, firstly, information of this kind comes from the authorities themselves, secondly, there are no ways to verify such declarations", Rtskhiladze remarked in his interview to "Georgia Times".