On 10 May 2019, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) published the report on its most recent visit to Georgia from 10 to 21 September 2018, together with the interim response of the Georgian authorities. As part of this visit, the delegation visited for the first time in Georgia an immigration detention facility, namely the Temporary Accommodation Centre (TAC) of the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, located in Varketili district of Tbilisi.

The delegation did not receive any allegations of ill-treatment by staff from the TAC. Further, it appeared that conflicts between detained foreign nationals were rare and never of any serious nature. The overall atmosphere at the TAC was relaxed, and material conditions at the TAC were generally very good. However, the CPT invited the Georgian authorities to make more efforts to offer some organised activities to foreign nationals accommodated at the TAC for extended periods. Regarding health-care, the CPT recommended to recruit nursing staff and organise 24/7 health-care coverage at the TAC. Further, the CPT recommended that the same screening, recording and reporting procedures be applied at the TAC as those already in place at the TDIs. The TAC employed specially trained custodial staff; however, the CPT invited the Georgian authorities to make further efforts to improve staff’s language skills.