52 Europe and Central Asia Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns in the Region, January – June 2007 principled importance for us that the trial ends once and forever in a way that society expects it to be finished and the truth is revealed about this tragedy”. A draft resolution drawn up by opposition politicians calling for a special parliamentary investigatory commission into the death of Sandro Girgvliani and Amiran Robakidze, another young man who died at the hands of police officers in November 2004 (see AI Index: EUR 56/001/2005), was voted down by Parliament on 16 February. AI was concerned that crucial evidence remained undisclosed. According to Shalva Shavgulidze, the lawyer of Sandro Girgvliani’s family, although investigators of the Ministry of Internal Affairs obtained detailed lists of telephone calls made over the period of three weeks starting 10 January 2006 by a number of people allegedly implicated in the case, only fragments of these records were included in the case file. Despite repeated petitions to the courts, the material was not made available to him. Shalva Shavgulidze also repeatedly and to no avail petitioned the courts to make available to him video footage of a security camera installed at a house situated on the way to the village of Okrokana. Shalva Shavgulidze told AI: “The authorities are reluctant to disclose these materials as they would shed light on those that are behind the crime, those that ordered that Sandro Girgvliani be ‘punished’.” Investigation into allegations of excessive force used by special forces to put down March 2006 prison disturbance (update to AI Index: EUR 01/017/2006) On 21 May the Human Rights Protection Unit of the Prosecutor General’s Office informed AI that the investigation into allegations that law enforcement officers had used excessive force against inmates of investigation-isolation prison no. 5 in Tbilisi in March 2006 was still ongoing. Amnesty International Early on 27 March 2006 at least seven inmates of the investigation-isolation prison died and many others were wounded as a result of a prison disturbance that was suppressed by special forces. Nongovernmental sources alleged that the special forces that entered the investigation-isolation prison did not use alternative non-violent means to establish control of the prison, but instead fired automatic weapons and rubber bullets, and beat detainees with truncheons. The Ombudsman alleged that special forces were likely to have “continued to fire even when the revolt [had] actually ended and the prisoners did not resist […] anymore” In its letter of 21 May the Human Rights Protection Unit stated that the director of investigation-isolation prison no. 5 and other officials had repeatedly “called on the prisoners to calm down”. However, according to the Unit, the inmates “began to move towards the officers, throwing stones and pieces of metal and wood at them”. Later special forces officers reportedly used rubber bullets, but only in response to inmates who were shooting with firearms. The Unit stated that 190 inmates had been interviewed as witnesses in the course of the investigation. Reportedly, 37 inmates of investigation-isolation prison no. 5 told prosecutors that staff of the penitentiary department had repeatedly called on the inmates to “stop resistance” and that the officers only started shooting with rubber bullets after one inmate had fired at them with a pistol. Then “the inmates started to move towards the officers and soon they heard [shouts] that one of the staff members was wounded. After this the officers opened fire. However, they were firing in the air and not in the direction of the inmates.” Allegations of excessive use of force by police against demonstrators on 26 May 2007 On 26 May representatives of the nongovernmental organization (NGO) the AI Index: EUR 01/010/2007

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