Related items

• Georgia: EBRD to help improve solid waste management in Kobuleti and Batumi

  The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is committing new funds to address solid waste treatment issues in Batumi and the wider Adjara region in Georgia. A sovereign loan of up to €19 million for Adjara Waste Management Company will help tackle some of the most pressing environmental challenges faced by the tourist region’s inhabitants and visitors. 

  The first committed tranche of up to €3 million will be used to purchase new solid waste management equipment. This will enable the borrower to start new landfill operations and, consequently, stop waste being disposed of at the current non-European Union (EU) compliant dumpsites. The second uncommitted tranche of up to €16 million will be used to build a new waste treatment plant, allowing the company to recover recyclables and divert waste sent to the new sanitary landfill. 

  The investment will address the priority needs of Batumi and the wider Adjara region. This includes stopping the disposal of waste at existing dumpsites in Kobuleti and Batumi, with the latter being the largest and most dangerous polluter in Georgia. “These dumpsites are active sources of land, water and air pollution, impacting the ecosystem of the region in particular, and the Black Sea in general,” says EBRD. 

  Find out more

  Press release

• SPECIALIZED FIREFIGHTING AIRCRAFTS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY ARE INVOLVED IN FIRE EXTINGUISHING WORKS IN BORJOMI

  In Borjomi Municipality, the fire localization and liquidation works continued throughout the night. Employees of various departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure, as well as the relevant services of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture, actively participate in fire extinguishing process. Border police helicopters resumed their work in the morning.

  Within the frames of the international aid, in Borjomi municipality, a firefighting aircraft with 8-ton tank of the Republic of Turkey was involved in the process of treating fire sectors from the morning. Today, two additional specialized firefighting aircrafts will be involved in fire fighting activities.

  Herewith, specialized firefighting train of the Railway Department will be involved in the fire extinguishing process from the morning.

  Due to high temperature and wind, fire sources of different complexity are still detectable on the ground. Routes leading to almost all active fire zones have already been laid with heavy machinery and tractors.

  All relevant fire-rescue vehicles are mobilized on the spot. Drones continue to monitor the fire.

  The operative management headquarters, headed by the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Ioseb Chelidze, and the Head of the Emergency Situations Management Service, Temur Mghebrishvili, continue to work on the ground.

  MIA of Georgia
• Findings and Recommendations of CPT Report on Ad Hoc Monitoring Carried out in Georgian Penitentiary Establishments

  On July 11, 2022, the Public Defender of Georgia organized a public discussion of the findings and recommendations of the report on the ad hoc monitoring carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) in the penitentiary establishments of Georgia.

  The ad hoc visit was conditioned by specific circumstances, including and primarily by the report published by the Public Defender in 2020, which referred to informal governance in the penitentiary system and frequent cases of inter-prisoner violence.

  In her opening remarks, the Public Defender of Georgia spoke about the importance of the recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and thanked the organization for its activities in Georgia. She also noted that the findings of the Committee's report were actually identical to the problems indicated in the Public Defender's reports. The findings include the prison criminal subculture reflected in the annual reports of the Public Defender, shortage of staff and their low qualifications, lack of rehabilitation services and the need to establish a fair and transparent parole mechanism.

  The Public Defender emphasized that violence against prisoners by prison staff no longer has a systematic character in Georgia. However, unfortunately, the repressive methods of the management of prisoners by prison staff has been replaced by the repressive management of prisoners by a small group of prisoners privileged by the prison administrations (the so-called prison watchers).

  According to Shalva Papuashvili, Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, the reports and recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the Public Defender of Georgia will help the penitentiary system improve its work; He expressed satisfaction with the fact that violence in prisons no longer has a systemic character and spoke about the supervision of the reforms in the penitentiary system by the Parliament.

  Deputy Minister of Justice Tornike Cheishvili emphasized the challenges in the penitentiary system and the readiness to solve them; He reviewed the planned legislative changes and spoke about the importance of focusing on the recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the Public Defender of Georgia.

  The monitoring report was presented by Borys Wodz, head of the CPT division responsible for visits. According to him, it is difficult to control large prisons, especially given that more than a thousand prisoners are controlled by 20-30 employees in some of the institutions. He noted that Georgian prisons do not ensure reasonable differentiation of inmates based on their criminal record and the possibility of correction (recidivists and first-time offenders are placed together).

  He also spoke about improper living conditions, saying that some prisoners repair their cells, buy furniture and equipment, but other cells are in a very bad condition. Nor is the quantitative distribution equal - different numbers of prisoners live in cells of the same size.

  Borys Wodz emphasized the lack of opportunities for engagement in activities. The vast majority of prisoners have nothing to do nor the opportunity to get an education that would have helped them avoid criminal subculture. The inadequate level of treatment of persons with mental health problems is also clearly visible.

  Deputy Public Defender Giorgi Burjanadze reviewed the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism of Georgia and noted that the main task of the Office was to find ways to solve problems. He spoke about the necessary changes, including the common issues referred to both by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the Public Defender of Georgia, such as dividing the penitentiary system into relatively small institutions and creating a balanced infrastructure, reducing the number of prisoners, shortage of staff, their working conditions, operational capabilities and accountability.

  He singled out the issue of rehabilitation, noting that prisoners do not see the importance of engaging in activities, since the most important thing for them - parole mechanism is flawed and constant unjustified decisions cause their just dissatisfaction. The Public Defender thinks that improving the parole mechanism and focusing more on individual characteristics when making decisions would be a simple and quick method of encouraging prisoners to engage in rehabilitation activities. At the same time, this change would also reduce the influence of criminal subculture.

• The collapse of the residential building located on 26 May Street in Batumi

  As soon as the notification on the collapse of the residential building located on 26 May Street in Batumi was received at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, rescue and police forces were mobilized at the site, as well as ambulance crews.

  According to initial reports, the entrance of the residential building collapsed. Upon arrival at the scene, firefighters evacuated the population from the neighboring flats of the collapsed residential building, as well as from vehicles caught in the debris.

  At the moment, the area is being cleared of rubble and active search and rescue operations are underway. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched an investigation on the fact of building collapse; the information regarding the number of injured persons is being clarified at the moment.

  Along with firefighters, special equipment has already been mobilized at the site, including aerial ladder fire truck. In addition, the staff of the Special Tasks Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Forensic-Criminalistics Department have also been mobilized. The additional live force is being deployed from the neighboring regions of Adjara as well.

  The territory adjacent to the accident is condoned off due to security measures. The Ministry of Internal Affairs calls on the citizens, as well as the representatives of all media sources on the ground, to follow the instructions of the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and to observe the safety norms.

• CLOSING CEREMONY OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT TRAINING COURSE WAS HELD AT THE ACADEMY OF THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS

  The US Embassy’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), Regional Security Office (RSO) and Office of the Legal Attache of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) jointly organized a training course on crisis supervision for the senior management of the MIA.

  Ambassador of the United States to Georgia Kelly Degnan, the first Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Shalva Bedoidze and Deputy Ministers: Aleksandre Darakhvelidze and Giorgi Butkhuzi attended the closing ceremony of the training course. They awarded certificates to the participants.

  The US Ambassador highlighted the importance of training law enforcement and sharing international experience in crisis management and incident response.

  The participants of the training course discussed such important issues, as: Principles of crisis management and command centers; Crisis supervision; Interagency cooperation in crisis situations; Historical and practical examples etc.

  The training course was led by the FBI trainers James Newton and Otham Brown.

  Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Aleksandre Darakhvelidze expressed his gratitude to the Ambassador of the United States of America for US contribution to the Ministry’s capacity building over the years and close cooperation.