HRW: Georgia’s Human Rights Record ‘Uneven’

Although the Georgian government takes pride in its stated commitment to the rule of law and human rights protection, it continues to have an uneven human rights record, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its World Report 2007.

“Impunity for the actions of law enforcement officers remains a serious problem; effective investigations are rare. The executive wielded strong influence over the judiciary and took several steps to restrict freedom of expression,” HRW said.

The watchdog said that the government stepped up its fight against crime bosses, including within the prison system, “which resulted in more frequent use of force to subdue or punish detainees.”

The majority of Georgia’s prisoners—some 63% of whom are held in pre-trial detention—live in overcrowded, poorly ventilated, filthy cells, according to the HRW.

But according to accounts of the Georgian Justice Ministry, published by the Georgian daily 24 Saati (Hours) on January 12, prisoners who have already been convicted outnumbered those in pre-trial detention in 2006. Deaths among prisoners reached a record high last year at 92 people – most of whom died because of health problems, according to the Justice Ministry.

The HRW report also criticizes the Georgian authorities for a failure “to confront the long-standing problem of impunity for excessive use of force by law enforcement agents.”

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