Accessibility links

Breaking News

Watchdog

A guard tower at Tbilisi Prison No 8 in Tbilisi, where the abuses in the secretly made video were said to have taken place
A guard tower at Tbilisi Prison No 8 in Tbilisi, where the abuses in the secretly made video were said to have taken place
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has condemned the torture and ill treatment of inmates at a prison and juvenile detention facility in Georgia.

The abuses were documented in four videos that were broadcast this week on private Georgian television.

In a statement, the UN rights watchdog called on the government in Tbilisi to ensure all allegations of human rights abuses against inmates -- "not only the ones exposed" in the videos -- are investigated "promptly, impartially and effectively."

It said concerns about ill treatment of prisoners in Georgia have been raised with the United Nations for years.

ALSO SEE: Georgia Prison Abuse Whistle-Blower Was 'Waiting For This Moment'

The UNHCR also noted that international treaties signed by Tbilisi allow unannounced inspections of the country's prisons and detention centers by international monitors and independent rights monitors from Georgia.

Protests continued for a third straight day on September 21, with thousands of demonstrators demanding the prosecution of top officials implicated in the abuse scandal.

Georgian Interior Minister Bacho Akhalaia on September 20 became the latest official to step down over the images, which appeared to show the beating and rape of inmates at the hands of prison guards.
Supporters outside the Belarusian Embassy in Paris in 2011 hold signs of Ales Byalyatski.
Supporters outside the Belarusian Embassy in Paris in 2011 hold signs of Ales Byalyatski.
The Supreme Court of Belarus has upheld the 4 1/2-year prison sentence of the leader of Minsk-based Vyasna (Spring) human rights center.

Ales Byalyatski was arrested in August 2011 and sentenced in November on tax-evasion charges that the European Union and United States have condemned as politically motivated.

The charges against Byalyatski stemmed from his alleged use of personal accounts in Lithuania and Poland to receive funding from international donors for rights activities in Belarus.

Byalyatski has pleaded not guilty.

Vyasna human rights center said on September 21 that the Belarusian Supreme Court was the last official body inside the country where Byalyatski could appeal and now he is eligible to appeal his verdict with international courts.

Based on reporting by Interfax

Load more

About This Blog

"Watchdog" is a blog with a singular mission -- to monitor the latest developments concerning human rights, civil society, and press freedom. We'll pay particular attention to reports concerning countries in RFE/RL's broadcast region.

Subscribe

Latest Posts

Journalists In Trouble

RFE/RL journalists take risks, face threats, and make sacrifices every day in an effort to gather the news. Our "Journalists In Trouble" page recognizes their courage and conviction, and documents the high price that many have paid simply for doing their jobs. More

XS
SM
MD
LG