Georgia partially destroys police archive with unlawfully obtained data about citizens' personal lives

On September 5, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Georgia destroyed part of the archive with unlawfully obtained data about citizens' private lives. In October 2012, the above data were found in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia during operational and investigative activities.

The archive includes 26,000 files made within the period of 2006-July 2012. The materials were collected with regard to politicians, journalists, public figures, and clerics. The special commission has made a decision to destroy first the materials that reflect the intimate side of citizens' lives.

The archive was being destroyed in one of the Tbilisi buildings of the Georgian MIA by a "Schroeder" device in the presence of representatives of the special commission and journalists. Representatives of the commission have emphasized that during the work with the found materials, officials from the MIA strictly observed the integrity of the archive.

However, Irakli Garibashvili, Minister of Internal Affairs, who attended the process of destroying the archive, did not rule out that representatives of the preceding government might have copies of the archival materials. He has announced his intention to tighten the law designed to protect the privacy of citizens.