Lazare Grigoriadis Rights Reportedly Violated in Detention
According to information provided to journalists by Lika Bitadze, the lawyer of Lazare Grigoriadis arrested after the 7-9 March protests, his rights were violated in detention, and he was subjected to psychological pressure during interrogation. Moreover, according to Bitadze, Grigoriadis’ hair was shaved against his will in prison.
According to Bitadze, he was denied legal representation and the presence of his lawyer. Moreover, an unidentified senior official threatened him that if he didn’t testify, his friend Giorgi Jariashvili would also be arrested.
Bitadze said: “He asked for a lawyer, and they did not provide one”. She also described an episode when he was arrested and given his phone to call a lawyer, only to have it taken away after he entered the passcode. Bitadze said: “They [the police] wanted to know the code and did not call the lawyer”.
According to Lika Bitadze, Grigoriadis will invoke his right to silence and testify in the first trial.
On 31 March, the court sentenced Lazare Grigoriadis to preventive detention. He was arrested on 29 March for allegedly throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at police.
Later in the evening the Special Penitentiary Service issued a statement regarding Grigoriadis, which reads that: “Information that his hair was shaved off completely, especially against his will, is not true”. The statement further reads that “it is a lie that he was not allowed to have a lawyer.” The service states that “Grigoriadis’ right to protection like that of any other prisoner, is fully guaranteed in penitentiary institutions” and notes he was visited by the representative of the Public Defender’s office the same day – March 31 – when he was arrested.
Also Read:
- 01/04/2023 – Photo story: “For the Freedom of Lazare” – Rally in Front of the Government Administration
- 03/04/2023 – Georgian Dream Reacts to MEP Viola von Cramon’s Participation in the Rally
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
