Commissioner Hammarberg today returned from a contact visit in Tbilisi where he discussed the Georgian human rights situation with the highest state officials, parliamentarians, judicial authorities and NGOs.
Among others, he held meetings with President Mikheil Saakashvili, Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli, the ministers for Foreign Affairs, for Internal Affairs, Justice, Refugees, and Conflict Resolution. The Commissioner also visited the Supreme Court and met the Prosecutor General, the Public Defender of Georgia (Ombudsman), as well as representatives of the international community.
The most important discussions focused on the state of the penitentiary system in Georgia, the situation of IDPs and problems related to minorities.
During his visit, the Commissioner also followed up on an appeal made by a local NGO protesting against the 30-day detention of five NGO activists for holding a protest demonstration in front of a court house. Commissioner Hammarberg approached the authorities to discuss the court decision, which had been taken by a judge, as well as the lack of possibility for an appeal. He also visited one of the activists, Mr Irakli Kakabadze, who was hospitalised with an illness on the second day of his detention.