7 Nov 2017 20:45

ECHR compels Georgian authorities to pay 3,000 euro in damages to artist tortured in prison

TBILISI. Nov 7 (Interfax) - The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg has compelled Georgian authorities to pay 3,000 euro in compensation to a former prisoner who became a victim of prison torture, the Georgian human rights organization Human Rights Center said on Tuesday, citing the ECHR judgment.

In 2014 the Georgian citizen, with the support of the Human Rights Center, filed an ECHR lawsuit claiming that while he was in prison, under the previous, pre-2012 Georgian government, he was tortured and treated inhumanely by the staff at prison No. 8, the organization said.

The center did not identify the citizen, but stated that constant beating and inadequate medical treatment left him with severe damage to his vision, making it impossible for him to work in his profession.

The tortured prisoner is an artist, the center said.

The ECHR also compelled Georgian authorities to launch an investigation of the torture of this man while in prison, the human rights organization said.