Georgia: ICRC visits people arrested in connection with May events in Tbilisi
30-05-2011 News Release 11/122
Tbilisi (ICRC) – In the wake of last week's rallies in the Georgian capital, the ICRC has started visiting persons arrested in connection with the events and detained in Tbilisi and other nearby cities. The first visits took place on 28 May, following the notification of access received from the Georgian ministry of internal affairs.
"After the dispersal of the rally, our first concern was to find out whether hospitals and other medical facilities treating the injured needed any help from the ICRC to provide them with suitable care," said Ariane Tombet, head of the ICRC delegation in Georgia. "We also requested access to those reportedly arrested in the course of the events and we are pleased that the positive reply from the authorities came very quickly."
The visits are carried out by an ICRC team comprising a delegate, a medical doctor and a translator. Their aim is to check on the treatment of detainees and the conditions of their detention. In addition, the ICRC is in contact with families who enquire about their relatives.
"All the visits are being carried out in accordance with the ICRC's customary procedures for visits to detainees, which include seeing all individuals concerned, holding private interviews with detainees of our choice, and being able to register detainees and follow their movement within the detention system," said Ms Tombet.
The visits are part of the detainee-welfare work the ICRC has carried out since it began working in the country in 1992. In accordance with its standard practice, to ensure proper follow-up of all observations made during such visits, the ICRC shares its findings and recommendations on a strictly confidential basis with the authorities concerned.
For further information, please contact:
Maia Kardava, ICRC Tbilisi, tel: +995 91 600 685 or +995 32 35 55 10