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28/12/2009 18:00 ABKHAZIA, SUKHUM
The Commissioner for Human Rights to the President of the Republic of Abkhazia Georgy Otyrba called publication of the European Commission for the Prevention of Torture (ECPT) report by Georgia’s request before the Abkhaz party presented its answers and proposals to it “a political step”. “Probably, it was a political step to outstrip Abkhazia in its contacts with the European Union, in particular, with the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture”, Otyrba told journalists.
According to him, from April 27 till May 4 the Commission was staying in Abkhazia, met with him, with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Health Care representatives. “They were given an unhinded possibility to visit at their discretion the Dranda prison, the Gal, Sukhum, Tkuarchal prisons, the State Security Service of the Republic of Abkhazia and the Dranda psychoneurologic dispensary”, Otyrba said. “It was an example of positive cooperation with this organisation which, by the way, was noted by the Commission itself in its report and the documents sent to us”.
According to Otyrba, after the ECPT mission’s completion a long enough time has elapsed before the report appeared.
On November 5 the report was discussed at a meeting in the EU, on December 10 we received it in English on 60 pages. Heads of corresponding services are not obliged to speak English and consequently we needed time to translate it and familiarize ourselves with it”, Otyrba said.
However, according to him, on December 23 at the Georgian party’s request this report was published on the Committee’s site, in defiance of own principles according to which it was necessary to wait for the reaction from Abkhazia to the report, and publish it only after that. “The process itself and the principles declared by the members of the Committee at the meeting with us appeared to be broken”, Otyrba said.
At the same time, according to him, the Commission found no facts of tortures or inhuman treatment in Abkhazia. “We take the document developed by the ECPT with gratitude and we consider it very important and necessary. At the same time all the observations mentioned in the report are no news for us. Almost all information presented in it is connected with postconflict development of the state”, the Commissioner for Human Rights to the President said. Next year the country’s leadership intends to take practical steps to repair premises where prisoners are kept.
Georgy Otyrba expressed gratitude to the Committee for the work done and the objective point of view on the current situation. “To our pleasure, the ECPT members couldn’t find violations concerning their immediate competence”, he added.
“Unfortunately, the Committee hasn’t given us a chance to further cooperate with it on the issues stated in this report with the publication by the Georgian party’s request”, Otyrba said.
“We are ready to cooperation but only after the ECPT considers our request on Abkhazia joining this European convention. And then all questions and problems of concrete cooperation, correspondence and contacts are likely to be removed”, Otyrba said.
As to the report, according to him, translation will be given to both the country leaders and non-governmental organizations, and to all institutions in charge for places of imprisonment.
“We were not against the ECPT members’ visit and gave complete freedom of action to the Commission”, Otyrba said. “The only thing they couldn’t do was to meet face to face with the sentenced to death. They talked to him through the bars. In all other cases they had a chance to communicate freely with prisoners”.
“We have given them all opportunities to work though Abkhazia hasn’t joined this convention. There is an impression that the Committee didn’t expect the Abkhaz party to be so open for cooperation. We acted on the premise that Abkhazia is an open country and work of high class experts is benificial for us”, Otyrba added.
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