The Public Defender’s Office of Georgia has released information following a meeting with the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty.

According to the Office, the Public Defender of Georgia, Levan Ioseliani, and First Deputy Public Defender Tamar Gvaramadze met with Michael O’Flaherty.

“At the meeting, the parties discussed the state of protection of human rights and freedoms in the country, including issues related to freedom of assembly and expression, as well as shortcomings in investigative actions concerning alleged cases of ill-treatment of individuals detained during protests.

The participants reviewed the overall human rights situation in the country, with particular attention given to freedom of assembly and expression, and deficiencies in effective investigations into alleged ill-treatment of detainees during protests. The discussion also covered the ability of civil society organizations to operate freely and the regulations governing access to grant funding.

The Public Defender assessed the situation in the penitentiary system from the perspective of human rights protection and discussed the conditions of detainees held in these institutions.

They also addressed the human rights situation in the occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali, as well as in villages along the occupation line, and the situation of internally displaced persons affected by the conflict.

The meeting aimed to review developments since the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights’ visit last year.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Director of the Commissioner’s Office, Claudia Lam, and Advisor Romer Lemaitre,” the statement reads.