Amnesty International Concerned over Continuing Cases of Torture
In a statement issued on November 23 the Amnesty International voiced concern over continuing cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees in Georgia. The human rights group has also announced launch of its report: ?Georgia Torture and ill-treatment ? still a concern after the Rose Revolution.”
“The government should keep the eradication of torture and ill-treatment on its agenda as a priority issue. While important steps have been taken, the government still has a long way to go. A long-term approach is needed to achieve lasting results,” Anna Sunder-Plassmann, Amnesty International’s researcher on Georgia said adding that “impunity for torture and ill-treatment is still a big problem.”
?The methods used to torture or ill-treat detainees, as indicated in reports received by Amnesty International since the ?Rose Revolution?, include electric shocks; putting plastic bags over the head of a detainee; suspending a detainee from a pole between two tables; cigarette and candle burns; placing the barrel of a gun in a detainee?s mouth threatening to shoot; threats to beat the detainee?s family; gagging the detainee with a piece of cloth so they cannot shout; beatings, including with truncheons and butts of guns, and kicking,? the Amnesty International?s statement reads.
But the group also notes that the fight against torture and ill-treatment is currently one of the key issues on the new government?s agenda with regard to human rights and in recent months the Georgian authorities have introduced or implemented a number of measures in response to ongoing reports of torture and ill-treatment.
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