Social Justice Center: On March 31, the police arbitrarily detained Luka Kintsurashvili, searched his bag, and demanded access to a "Telegram" chat on his phone. During a personal inspection, he was completely stripped twice

The Social Justice Center considers the detention of Luka Kintsurashvili by the police on March 31 to be "illegal" and states that this case is yet another clear confirmation that "arbitrariness and inhumane treatment of detainees by the police have become a normalized practice."

According to the statement, on March 31 at 8:00 PM, the police arbitrarily detained Luka Kintsurashvili on Vazha-Pshavela Avenue and, under a general and formal preventive justification, demanded to search his bag and access a "Telegram" chat on his phone.

"Luka Kintsurashvili agreed to have his bag searched but, before granting access to his phone, contacted our organization’s lawyer for consultation. During the phone conversation, the lawyer asked the police to clarify the legal basis and procedure under which they were requesting access to Luka’s personal phone. The lawyer also informed them that he would soon arrive at the location to ensure that any police procedure would be conducted with his participation and advised Luka to start a live broadcast until he arrived. Following this, the police seized Luka Kintsurashvili’s phone and detained him under administrative procedures.

The detainee was not given the opportunity to contact his family or lawyer. As a result, for six hours after his detention, neither his family nor his legal representatives had any information about Luka’s whereabouts or condition.

As Luka Kintsurashvili later informed his lawyer at the Rustavi temporary detention facility, police officers completely stripped him twice—once upon his arrival at the police station and again when he was admitted to the temporary detention facility.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs accuses Luka Kintsurashvili of verbally insulting the police as an administratively sanctioned person (under Article 173, Paragraph 3 of the Administrative Offenses Code), and his detention has been extended to the maximum period of 48 hours.

It is particularly alarming that, in recent times, the forced stripping of detainees by the police has become a recurring practice, turning this especially degrading form of inhumane treatment into a part of the state’s repressive policy," the statement reads.