19:00, 28 May 2011

Ombudsman of Georgia reports 152 detainees at opposition rallies in May

On May 28, the Office of the Ombudsman of Georgia published a list of 152 persons detained during the May protest actions, found in 17 IVSs (temporary isolation facilities) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), located both in Tbilisi and in regions of the country.

"On May 26-28 we conducted a monitoring, which revealed that the majority of detainees have more or less serious traumas, some of them have grave injuries," said the Ombudsman Georgi Tugushi.

He demanded to conduct an immediate forensic medical examination of the injured detainees and reaction to every such fact, the "Interfax" reports.

Mr Tugushi also called on Vano Merabishvili, the MIA head, to immediately ensure restoration of the restricted, in his opinion, rights of the protesters detained on May 26. In particular, he means their right to defence and to inform their families about their whereabouts, the "Georgia Online" reports.