Rights Group Sees Rise In Police Brutality In Georgia

Beso Abashidze of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association told a roundtable discussion in Tbilisi law enforcement officers were "regularly" resorting to violence to coerce confessions from suspects. He also claimed Georgian security forces had physically eliminated alleged criminals during special mop-up operations.

Abashidze said the increase in police violence was the result of government efforts to enforce the law at any cost.

There was no immediate reaction from Georgian authorities.

In a report last month, Amnesty International said torture and ill-treatment of detainees persists in Georgia. Georgian officials have denied the report's conclusions.

Georgian ombudsman Sozar Subari is due to present his own report on alleged human rights violations to parliament this week.

(Novosti-Gruziya/Prime-News)