Tbilisi. Today the Georgian Young Lawyers` Association (GYLA) and Transparency International Georgia presented the sixth monitoring report, which reflects the activity of the High Council of Justice of Georgia of the year 2017. Along with other directions, the report assesses legislation that regulates the Council activity and the activity of the Council mentioned while selecting/appointing judges, transparency of the Council activity, a rule and practice while appointing the chairperson of the court and disciplinary liability of judges. In full  Source: The organization’s webpage

Tbilisi. According to the information released by the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, the Prosecutor's Office convicted a woman victim of domestic violence, who had addressed police to protect her from violence committed by her former husband. ''The prosecution began in June 2018, the Prosecutor's Office unexpectedly recognized a person, accused in violence, as an affected and convicted the victim on the basis of harassment and false claim against her former husband. It should be noted that the Prosecutor's Office referred on biased witnesses while convicting the woman victim and did not take into consideration other evidences, proving that Tamar Bekarashvili was a victim of violence'' – is stated by GYLA, which defends interests of Bekarashvili in the criminal case. Read more… Source:The website of the organization

Tbilisi. ''Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center'' (EMC) addresses the State Security Service and Chief Prosecutor's Office regarding the case of Temirlan Machalikashvili. ''Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center'' (EMC) responds to information that was spread by various means of media on June 25, 2018 and regarded to possible study of data of a mobile phone belonging to Temirlan Machalikashvili. EMC once again calls on the Prosecutor's Office and State Security Service to strictly adhere to principles of the rule of law and presumption of innocence and, beyond the legal protection and process, stop spreading information whether Temirlan Machalikashvili is guilty, thus attempting to discredit him'' – is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. On June 26, 2018, the Public Defender of Georgia and the Penal Reform International held a regional conference in connection with the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, where the National Preventive Mechanisms of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia presented annual reports. ''The reports describe the situation of torture and ill-treatment in the threes countries’ facilities of restriction and deprivation of liberty'', is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Public Defender Responds to Verdict Delivered in Khorava Street Case. "The Public Defender of Georgia has studied the verdict delivered against two juveniles in the case of murder committed on Khorava Street and came to a conclusion that the verdict clearly proves the deficiencies identified by the Public Defender in the investigation, due to which, the Prosecutor’s Office could not obtain and adduce sufficient evidence for convicting all persons involved in the murder of Davit Saralidze. The above-mentioned case clearly demonstrates the absence of an effective mechanism of protection of children from bullying and violence in school. It is clear that effective performance of duties by the individuals responsible for children's safety requires systematic reforms in order to minimize violence among juveniles and prevent such fatal cases in the future”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) appraises an incident that took place at the Ozurgeti Assembly. ''GYLA considers that a physical insult upon Beso Katamadze, a member of the Assembly of Ozurgeti Municipality, may be recognized as a persecution of a person on the ground of expression of speech, opinion, or in regard to his/her political, social, professional activity. We call on the investigative body to conduct an investigation in the best possible time, thoroughly and objectively, in correspondence with a criminal case qualification'' – is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. On June 19, 2018, a working meeting was organized by the Public Defender's Office and the Council of Europe Office in Georgia. Improvement of the mechanism for monitoring the Istanbul Convention for the purpose of strengthening the capacities of the Public Defender's Office and NGOs in the field of domestic violence and violence against women and international experience were discussed. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Part of civil society organizations releases a statement regarding physical assault committed against Besik Katamadze, a member of the political council of the United National Movement. ''We, the signatory organizations express our concern regarding the fact of physical assault committed against Besik Katamadze, a member of the political council of the United National Movement, a deputy of the Assembly of Ozurgeti Municipality, and call on the law enforcement agencies to investigate mentioned incident, as well as identify all individuals connected with the incident in a timely and efficient manner'' – is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.gdi.ge

Tbilisi. Public Defender Nino Lomjaria expresses her condolences and concern about the alleged beating and murder of a 4-year-old child in the city of Batumi. ''Timely identification of child abuse, protection of children from violence and ill-treatment and effective realisation of assistacne measures have been serious problems in Georgia for years. Unfortunately, the violent attitude towards children is observed in the community, family and educational institutions. However, along with the stereotypes, the systemic deficiencies in responding to child abuse by the state has an alarming impact on the indicator of protection of children from any form of violence'', is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. On June 12, 2018, a representative of the Public Defender of Georgia monitored Tbilisi City Court trials in relation to the administrative offenses allegedly committed at the 11 June rally. The detainees had to wait for the hearing of their cases all day long, as one and the same judge was considering several cases. The Public Defender considers that the abovementioned once again shows that the Code of Administrative Offenses is unconstitutional and it cannot guarantee the enjoyment of the right to a fair trial. The abovementioned problems have been pointed out in the Public Defender’s report for years. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Part of Georgian civil society organizations releases a statement regarding a rally that takes place on Rustaveli Avenue. ''We call on the organizers of the rally to take into consideration requirements of law and ensure peaceful and lawful nature of the action in order to express a fair and legitimate protest of victims and their supporters. Besides, we urge the government to adhere principles of protection the right to assembly and manifestation. In case of necessity, carry out negotiations with organizers and participants of the rally''. Read more… Source: www.osgf.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia would like to respond to the investigation of the murder of teenagers on Khorava Street and provide information about the examination of the case by the Public Defender’s Office. ''The Public Defender is studying the case in two directions: firstly, whether all necessary investigative actions have been carried out or whether the investigative activities conducted were sufficient; and secondly, whether certain persons, whose responsibilities were possible to identify, have been identified. At this stage, we have identified certain circumstances and we’d like to provide information about it to the public. As a result of the examination of the case, a question emerged about why the investigation did not seize the clothes of one of persons participating in the fight. We would also like to welcome the active investigative process being conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It should be noted that after fully studying the case materials, one of the subjects of our assessment will be the effectiveness of the investigation conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs since June 2018'', is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. With the help of ''Transparency International Georgia'', Irakli Kikvadze, a citizen, won a court dispute against Kutaisi ''Sporting Institutions Union''. According to the verdict, the citizen must be reinstated to his position and reimbursed compensation in the amount of GEL 2000. Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. On June 7, 2018, Public Defender Nino Lomjaria met with Chairman of the special parliamentary commission, MP Sergi Kapanadze and a member of the Commission, Elene Khoshtaria. Progress of the investigation of the murder of minor Davit Saralidze, plans and priorities of the fact-finding commission, issues of cooperation and coordination between the Public Defender and the commission were discussed at the meeting. Read more... Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. ''Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center'' (EMC) files a lawsuit at the Tbilisi City Court and demands compensation for moral damage inflicted by actions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on Zviad Ratiani, in particular, via spreading his personal data. ''After publication of video recordings, he started to receive verbal insults and experience aggression against him at various times. As a result, psychological and emotional condition of Zviad Ratiani deteriorated significantly, he lost feeling of security and developed posttraumatic stress disorder'' – the statement reads. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. On June 6-7, the Constitutional Court will review a lawsuit of 326 citizens related to recognition of the Law on Secret Surveillance unconstitutional. The lawsuit was filed at the Constitutional Court last June. Read more… Source: www.osgf.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary is responding to the failure of administrative bodies to execute the court decision ordering to reinstate Ana Subeliani and Tamaz Akhobadze in their positions at work. ''This case exemplifies the problem of institutional subordination of the LEPL National Enforcement Bureau to the Ministry of Justice. Both the National Enforcement Bureau and the Crime Prevention Center are institutionally connected to the Ministry of Justice. The Minister of Justice appoints and dismisses the Heads of both agencies. The institutional connection of the National Enforcement Bureau to the Ministry of Justice creates a risk that the enforcement of decisions that are unacceptable to the Minister of Justice may be artificially protracted or left unexecuted'', is noted in the statement. In full… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Human rights organizations are closely following the mass protest in Tbilisi and other cities in recent days and declare their solidarity with Saralidze and Dadunashvili families. ''Failure of the authorities to adequately respond to the ongoing developments and thousands of people that have taken to the streets in protest are clear indication of a crisis situation in the country. The wave of public protest is not only about the problem of inadequate investigation of the Khorava Street incident, but more broadly, it is an expression of grievances that were building in society against the unfair justice system and social policy'', is noted in the statement. In full… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. ''Transparency International Georgia'' responds to the fact of murder that took place at the Khorava Street and demands resignation of Chief Prosecutor. ''There are years that the society has a lot of questions about biased and incomplete investigation of high-profile cases, which have led to decrease in confidence in the Prosecutor’s Office. The Prosecutor's Office has currently lost trust of the society, while the present administration does not have the ability to regain lost trust. In this situation Irakli Shotadze, Chief Prosecutor, has to assume political responsibility and resign from the position'' – is stated on the website of the organization. Read more…  Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary is responding to the failure of administrative bodies to execute the court decision ordering to reinstate Ana Subeliani and Tamaz Akhobadze in their positions at work. This failure points to the administrative bodies’ disrespect of the right to fair trial. ''It is well known that Subeliani and Ahobadze were dismissed from the LEPL Crime Prevention Center in January 2014. They claimed that Tea Tsulukiani was responsible for this illegal and unjustified decision, although their dismissal was officially justified by reorganizational needs. The dispute went on for almost four years at three court instances, but ended with a positive outcome for Subeliani and Akhobadze. The Center was ordered to reinstate the former employees in their positions and also compensate them for the loss of remuneration from the date of dismissal until the date of reinstatement'', is noted in the statement. In full… Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. ''Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center'' (EMC) releases a video clip containing a review of a reform necessary in an investigation system. ''How are rights of both investigator and prosecutor divided during an investigation process? What reforms are needed to ensure an objective and comprehensive investigation?'' - These are questions that the video clip answers. Read more… Source:The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) addresses the Chief Prosecutor's Office and demands to launch an investigation regarding transfer of a 100% state-owned share of ''Tbilisi State Concert Hall'' with the right of management. Read more… Source: The website of the organization