NGOs to Monitor New Authorities

Following the November ‘rose revolution’ particular speculations were spread, according to which the new authorities need no monitoring and the non-governmental sector should change the style and form of its activities. However, a classical function of non-governmental organizations – control of the authorities – still remains urgent in post-revolutionary Georgia.   

Despite the reforms initiated by the new government, many issues still remain unsolved. For example, the scales of human rights violations are still alarming.

Georgian Ombudsman Sozar Subari and Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili signed, on December 23, a memorandum envisaging the setting up of special monitoring groups to observe human rights in the penitentiary system.

Establishment of public councils, composed of the employees of the Ombudsman’s Office, active citizens and representatives of the non-governmental organizations, was an extremely positive event for the third sector. The issue of human rights violations in the penitential system is long discussed by human rights watchdogs.

“The idea of setting up public councils was born a year and a half ago, before the revolution. We and the Liberty Institute wrote a draft together, which aimed at promoting the police reform. One of the trends of this project envisaged setting up public monitoring councils,” says head of the non-governmental organization Alpe Zura Guntsadze. 

The new authorities also demonstrated a political will and established public monitoring councils under the patronage of the Ombudsman. However, the Ombudsman has the right to visit the places of detention without prior notification and inspect the situation there. The Ombudsman delegates just this exclusive right to the members of the public councils.

It seems that setting up of public councils was not only the demonstration of “a good will” of the authorities. “We [non-governmental organizations] discussed the issue of human rights violations with international organizations as well. Naturally, the authorities did not like it and had to make concessions regarding establishment of public monitoring councils,” Tea Tutberidze of the Liberty Institute said.

“Monitoring councils will be set up in various regions of Georgia; hence, monitoring of the pretrial detention cells will cover the entire territory of Georgia,” Ombudsman Sozar Subari said after signing the memorandum with the Interior Minister.

However, presently public councils are functioning only in Tbilisi and Telavi, that cannot be said about other regions of Georgia. It is very hopeful that the presence of public councils will be reflected in the new Law on Ombudsman. In Zura Guntsadze’s opinion, owing to this fact, public monitoring councils will become much strengthened in the regions.

Moreover, noteworthy that a 21-member public advisers group, which was set up according to the presidential decree, is functioning under the Justice Ministry. The members of this group also have the right to enter prisons at any time and get acquainted with the situation on the ground.

According to Tina Khidasheli of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), once in three months the group will submit a report over the situation in prisons to the Justice Minister, and once in six months – to the President.   
However, it is not enough only to study the situation and conduct monitoring at the places of detention. The authorities ought to react on each fact of human rights violations.

“Unfortunately, I do not think that the present authorities really wish to change the situation for better. We give recommendations, however we cannot arrest anybody for alleged tortures and illegal detentions … Those, who commit crimes, should answer before the law. Unfortunately, no such precedent is observed in the country,” Tea Tutberidze claims.

Still, the activities of the monitoring councils and monitoring groups have proved successful. 

In particular, the facts of tortures have significantly decreased in Tbilisi. However, “the policemen have found another method – if previously the detainees were taken to the police departments and tortured there, today they do the same during detention, in the cars. According to the agreement achieved with the Interior Ministry, each detainee will be registered at the police department to define, whether they have any injuries. Hence, if the policemen register the detainees without injuries and later we find out that they have particular injuries, the policemen will find it difficult to prove that they have not beaten the detainees,” Tea Tutberidze said.

At the same time, number of illegal arrests has significantly decreased. “Arrests were made for the sake of making arrests. Police had a plan, which should have been fulfilled. Accordingly, those who had been imprisoned once, often returned to prisons. Currently, such a tendency is not observed,” Tea Tutberidze claims.

It is beyond doubt, that monitoring of the authorities should continue within the frames of cooperation with the authorities. This opinion is supported by the non-governmental organizations, who are developing new measures. “Now, we try to establish an independent investigation institute, so that to entrust a specially trained person to interrogate a policeman and inspect the scene. In order to conduct independent investigation, it is necessary to make changes to the Law on Ombudsman and to the Criminal Procedural Code,” Zura Guntsadze said.

However, as the human rights watchdogs claim, their activity will not change the situation much, if the authorities do not express a real will for improving the situation.