A criminal investigation into the cases of alleged violence committed in 2016-2021 at the Ninotsminda boarding school has been launched, says the Georgian public defender.
According to the ombudsman, the office of the ombudsman requested the corresponding information from Georgia's General Prosecutor's Office and the MIA of Georgia.
The investigation of cases of alleged physical violence and rape at the boarding school is now underway.
The public defender lacks detailed information at this point, and her office has already reached out to the corresponding agencies to obtain it.
On 15 April 2021, the public defender was refused access to the Ninotsminda boarding school. Following this, The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) tasked the Georgian government to subject the institution to the corresponding inspection.
A social service worker was also denied access to the boarding school. The only social worker managed to enter the school building on 14 May.
After the Partnership for Human Rights Organization submitted the corresponding request, the CRC applied a temporary measure obliging the government to study the situation in the Ninotsminda boarding school immediately.
According to the Partnership for Human Rights Organization, the UN uses similar levers rarely.
A total of 57 children are housed at the Ninotsminda boarding school at this point.
