Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) has filed a lawsuit against the State Security Service in the Tbilisi City Court on behalf of parents of Temirlan Machalikashvili. In the lawsuit, plaintiffs demand revealing of a breach of the presumption of innocence of Temirlan Machalikashvili by the State Security Service and compensation for moral damage. Read more… Source:The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Public Defender Nino Lomjaria is expressing sorrow at the murder of a woman in Tbilisi on 13 April 2018 and is offering sympathy to the family and relatives of the victim. ''Despite the fact that the rate of identification of domestic violence has increased in recent years and at first glance, the problem has moved from a closed social circle to public space, the number of brutal forms of violence and murder is still high. 14 out of 26 cases of killing of women in 2017 were a result of domestic violence and 12 out of 15 murder attempts were related to domestic crimes'', is noted in the statement. The Public Defender has been constantly indicating the inefficiency of protective measures and necessity for strengthening preventive measures. In full… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Civil Society platform ''No to Phobia!'' releases a statement regarding a fact of assault on black students. ''The fact of assault on black students that took place in the evening on April 8 in a Digomi district is extremely alarming. A widespread video reflects racist motives of attackers. This incident, along with other recently revealed acts committed on the basis of intolerance, indicates necessity of passing a consistent and systematic anti-discrimination policy by the state'' - the website of the organization reads. Read more... Source:mdfgeorgia.ge

Tbilisi. EMC presented research analyzes legal acts that define rules of investigation, relationships between subjects involved in the investigation process, and the level of their independence from each other, as well as from external parties. "Subordination between the prosecutor and the investigator is of particular interest in this regard – how broad is the procedural oversight of the prosecutor over the investigation, in what intensity can a prosecutor, being the party of the process as the same time10, interfere in investigative actions and what space remains to the investigator to carry out the investigation in a thorough, full and impartial manner. The research also focuses on institutional arrangement of investigative bodies, qualification of the investigator, and issues that influence impartiality and effectiveness of investigation”, - mentioned EMC. In full  Source: The organization’s webpage

Tbilisi. M.R., a victim of violence, and her juvenile child applied to ''Sapari'' for help. ''Since 2017, an employee of the State Security Service had been committing sexual, economic, physical and psychological violence against M.R. and her juvenile child. On March 21, the Tbilisi City Court found the employee of the State Security Service guilty and sentenced him to spend 4 years in prison and pay GEL 5000 as a fine'' – is stated on the website of the organization. Read more... Source:sapari.ge

Tbilisi. At the March 26 session of the High Council of Justice (HCOJ), judge-member Sergo Metopishvili announced that he plans to put forward an initiative for closing the HCOJ sessions to the public on the official agenda. ''We believe the judge-member’s initiative contradicts both the law and the principles of democratic governance. Such initiatives can only be damaging to the transparency of the HCOJ’s work, the possibility of voicing dissent at the HCOJ, and the reputation of the judiciary. We call on the High Council of Justice to adequately assess the damaging effects of Judge Sergo Metopishvili’s initiative on judicial independence, trust towards and reputation of the judiciary, and principles of democratic governance. We call on the HCOJ to publicly affirm its respect to the fundamental principles of law and preclude any encroachment on them'', is noted in the statement. In full… Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) responds to amendments made to the Constitution at third hearing on March 23. ''In terms of contextual changes, especially problematic is an amendment made to the Article 18 of the Constitution that relates to freedom of information. It is noteworthy that the main purpose of constitutional amendments was to consider recommendations of the Venice Commission, however these amendments were not part of either the version submitted to the Venice Commission or the initial variant'' – is stated on the website of GYLA. Read more… Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary is concerned about the increasing frequency of statements at the High Council of Justice (HCOJ) sessions that are discriminatory based on gender and the increasingly unequal atmosphere, which is directed towards crushing dissent at the HCOJ. ''At the March 26, 2018 session of the High Council of Justice (HCOJ), male judge members stated that their female non-judge colleague, Nazi Janezashvili was lying, that it was impossible to talk to her, and impossible to listen to her. This culminated with the HCOJ judge-member Sergo Metopishvili stating that Nazi may be controlled by her husband, Davit Gamisonia. Unethical criticism of the female members by the male members of the HCOJ during the sessions and in the media, loaded with gender stereotypes, has become standard practice. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary calls on the Independent Inspector of the High Council of Justice to commence disciplinary proceedings against specific members of the HCOJ, in accordance with Article 6 of the Law on Disciplinary Liability of Judges of Common Courts of Georgia and Disciplinary Proceedings'', is noted in the statement. In full… Source: coalition.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) publishes a blog post: Lawsuit of Kamran Mamedov against the International Education Center has also been satisfied by the Supreme Court. In 2015, Kamran Mamedov was enrolled in the University of Malmö and applied to the International Education Center for financing. After passing all three steps of a competition, his points did not appear sufficient to obtain financing. On the second stage of the competition, one of the members of the commission gave him zero points in all components without justification. The court found the decision of the Center unlawful and ordered to re-examine the issue. Read more... Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. According to the information released by the ''Institute for Development of Freedom of Information'' (IDFI), in 2017-2018. the situation in terms of rule of law significantly deteriorated in Georgia. This conclusion is made by IDFI as a result of its comparative analysis. Read more... Source:The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Part of civil society organizations release a statement regarding necessity of investigation of discriminatory motives in actions of persons detained in connection with developments at ''Rustavi 2''. ''...we call on the Chief Prosecutor's Office of Georgia to investigate discriminatory motives of committed actions and consider them as aggravating circumstances'' – is noted in the statement. Read more… Source:www.gdi.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association considers that Nino Tandilashvili, a Deputy Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, violated requirements of the ''Law of Georgia on Public Service''. The conclusion of GYLA is based on a statement made by Tamar Bagratia, a former head of the ''National Environmental Agency'', according to which Nino Tandilashvili had been forcing her to appoint a particular person to a position. Read more... Source:The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) has submitted an application to the Prosecutor's Office of Tbilisi and demanded to start an investigation based on facts of humiliating and disgraceful treatment of Machalikashvili family members during a special operation conducted by the State Security Service on December 26, 2017 at their house in the Duisi Village. Read more... Source:The website of the organization

Kvemo Kartli. First Deputy Public Defender of Georgia, together with Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia and Director of the Temporary Detention Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, visited a temporary detention isolator in Tsalka, which was rehabilitated on the basis of the recommendation of the Public Defender. According to First Deputy Public Defender of Georgia, the rehabilitated isolator is in full compliance with the temporary detention standards of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture. In full  Source: The organization’s webpage

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia is echoing the recent developments around the Rustavi 2 broadcasting company and the alleged attack on the reporters of the Obiektivi media-union. ''The Public Defender welcomes the timely reaction of the law enforcement agency to the case. An immediate legal response to the offense is important to eliminate the sense of impunity and prevent similar cases in future. The media also reported that a journalist and a cameraman of the Obiektivi TV Company were physically abused on March 20, 2018. An investigation into the case is in progress under Article 126 of the Criminal Code (violence) against both parties involved in the incident. The Public Defender will observe the investigation'', is noted in the statement. In full… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia responds to the recent frequent assaults on journalists. ''According to the representatives of the TV Obiektivi, their journalist and crew were attacked on March 20 while shooting one of the construction sites. In this case, the facts of violence and inference in journalistic activity are obvious. It is important to give the case the right qualification and investigate timely. The state must ensure the safe environment for media activities in the country'', is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Civil society organizations respond to a planned parliamentary discussion regarding quotation of participation of women in elections. They call on the Parliament to support a legislative initiative on gender quotation in the form as it has been presented to the Parliament by voters, because introduction of quotation in a proposed alternative way will become a formal act and fail to increase representation of women. Read more... Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Signatory organizations responding to the assault and insult of the journalists of ''Rustavi 2'' by the representatives of ''Georgian marsh'' movement. ''Freedom of expression and freedom of media is guaranteed by both the Georgian Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. The form of the protest should not go beyond the standards set by the law and should not include any form of violence. Signatory organizations calling the law enforcement agencies to investigate the attack and insult of the journalists of ''Rustavi 2'' as soon as possible, and to ensure a safe environment for media activities in the country'', is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. According to the statement of the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA), there is the first session regarding the case of 12-year-old Salome Tatishvili, dead at the ski track in Gudauri, held at the Tbilisi Court of Appeals. ''It is unclear on what grounds the judge supposes that it was particularly skiing of Salome, which facilitated the outcome to take place, moreover, in a way that it would become impossible for the defendant to avoid the outcome'' – is noted in the statement of the organization. Read more... Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center states that ''an expertise relevant to the course of an ongoing investigation of a case of murder of Temirlan Machalikashvili was conducted with faults''. Read more... Source:The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The GYLA is conducting strategic litigation in the Constitutional Court in order to change the unconstitutional use of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Georgia. As of now the GYLA has filed five claims in the Constitutional Court. In full… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) responds to a process of investigation that takes place in regard to the fact of murder of Temirlan Machalikashvili and calls on the Prosecutor's Office to ensure family members and lawyers of deceased Temirlan Machalikashvili's have full access to materials of the case. Read more... Source:The website of the organization