The Messenger
Wednesday, March 9, 2005, #042 (0816)

Press scanner
Prepared by Anna Arzanova

Patrol Police apply pressure against detainees

As reported in 24-Saati, members of the monitoring group of the Public
Defender’s office examined the main department of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs on March 4. The monitoring group discovered that a detainee, Lasha
Tskhovrebadze, was held in the pre-trial detention center and had been
beaten by the Patrol Police during his detention.

The paper writes that in the course of the beating, the Patrol Police
fractured his skull. Tskhovrebadze demanded an ambulance, but was refused by
the Patrol Police. According to 24-Saati, in doing so, the officers violated
rights of the detainee. According to the paper, the monitoring group
recorded these facts and opened a case on the issue.

Members of the monitoring group also met with a juvenile detainee, G.
Asanishvili, a boy who was arrest under charges of robbery.

In conversations with members of the monitoring group, the paper writes, the
detained Asanishvili stated that the Patrol Police detained him nearby the
metro station 300 Aragveli and that the Patrol Police used physical as well
as psychological pressure against him in their car as well as in jail.

According to the paper, members of the monitoring group recorded the facts
and opened a case on the issue. All documents have been signed by the head
of the pre-trial detention center, the paper reports.

Azerbaijan to allow freight shipments

According to Akhali Taoba, movement of rail freight that has detained at the
Azerbaijan border for months will be renewed and will enter Georgian
territory beginning March 7. This decision was made after a meeting between
Azeri President Ilham Aliev and Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli last week.
The paper reports that during the meeting, Noghaideli was able to assure the
leadership of Azerbaijan that the freight cars being detained carry cargo
destined for Georgia and not for Armenia and that these cargoes will not
enter Armenia.

The paper writes that several meetings and negotiations have been held
recently concerning the detained trains, which are loaded with wheat and oil
products, but “only the meeting of Noghaideli with Aliev was successful.”
According to the Railway Department, the loaded carriages will gradually
pass through customs and enter the country. The paper writes that about 320
fully loaded freight cars are held up at the Azeri-Georgian border. Akhali
Taoba reports that despite several attempts of the Georgian side, an
agreement allowing the cargo to enter Georgia has been unreachable for the
last four months.

“Half a million for offices”

Akhali Taoba reports that newly appointed Minister of Justice Kote Kemularia
and Ambassador of Greece to Georgia Konstantin Mavroskelidou signed an
agreement on March 7, according to which EURO 300,000 will be allotted for
the support of reform of the civil register of the Minister of Justice.
According to the paper, the allotted money is a grant and would be spent on
office repair, equipment, and the purchase of appropriate facilities.
“The allotted money, more than half a million lari, will be spent on the
repair of the passport and identity cards department. About five offices
will be repaired in accordance to modern standards,” stated Kemularia.
According to him, the paper writes, the project is in its testing period