What is happening in Ninotsminda Orphanage? Prosecutor's Office launches investigation
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Thursday, June 3
Public Defender Nino Lomjaria stated that according to the information received from the Prosecutor's Office, a number of investigations are underway regarding the violence in Ninotsminda boarding house. The Ombudsman has been saying for years that serious incidents of violence against children and cases of punishment of children have been revealed at the St. Nino Children's Boarding School in Ninotsminda.
Minors living in this boarding school are virtually isolated from society and the issue of meeting their individual needs is problematic. The Public Defender's report for 2015 and 2018 states that, among other problems, ‘strictest upbringing methods and lack of socialization’ have been identified there. One of the deacons also confirms the existence of strict teachers in the boarding school in the past. The last evaluation covered by Radio Liberty in November showed that children were being pulled by the hair and ears as a form of punishment, were sometimes left without dinner, and forced to kneel down and bow down to the ground.
It has been more than a month since the orphanage is preventing the public defender from entering to monitor the children’s condition. Meanwhile, pro-Russian media and organizations are allowed in, including Dimitri Lortkipanidze, Alt-Info, Guram Phalavandishvili and his son, known for ultranationalist sentiments. A few days ago, Former Metropolitan Seraphim (Jojua), accused of sexually assaulting a minor, visited the boarding house as well.
The archbishop of Skhalta Spiridon, who administers the facility, has accused the Ombudsman of ‘anti-Christian activities’ and stated that inspectors would not be allowed into the school. He says that the people with anti-Christian attitudes have nothing to do with the children of the boarding school.
“I will not allow them to touch my children. These are the people who protect and support the LGBT community and same-sex marriage,” said the archibishop.
Deputy Ombudsman Eka Skhiladze says that theorgia is that the main problem of closed boarding schools at religious organizations in Gperson who runs them is completely illegally empowered not to let social workers inside.
In an interview with Mtavari, Lomjaria said that her main complaints were with the ombudsman's state agencies, which, despite their legal obligations, failed to monitor the ombudsman.
On May 7, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child instructed the Georgian authorities to monitor the Ninotsminda Children's Board under the auspices of the Orthodox Church to determine the condition of the children there. So far, the state has been silent. The Partnership for Human Rights states that the UN uses such leverage only in exceptional cases.
The ombudsman says that her office ‘has repeatedly appealed’ to the Ministry of Social Affairs and LEPL Agency for State Care and Assistance for Victims of Trafficking, but they don’t have timely communication and no effective measures have been taken to protect the rights and interests of the beneficiaries of the boarding school yet.’ The state guardianship agency has not yet commented on the incident. The Ministry of Education responded by saying that all they know is that children from the orphanage attend a secondary school in the town of Ninotsminda.
As for the argument that social workers were allowed in the facility, Lomjaria explains that it was only one worker, who entered only after a year of trying, partially because of the involvement of the Ombudsman and media coverage. The social worker was not given the access to complete documentation and couldn’t monitor either. “The monitoring body is the Ombudsman, together with our people with specialization and expertise,” Lomjaria said.
In this regard, lawyer Ana Abashidze emphasizes that never during the existence of this house has any social worker written a critical assessment or made a public statement about the situation. She also reiterated that they only study the needs of a particular child and act according to them. That’s why it’s important for the monitoring body of the Ministry of Health to step in since it has the authority to check whether the agency meets the established standards.
Lomjaria raises suspicion that management in that facility has something to hide, since it’s the only institution that refuses to allow Ombudsman’s people in. The Public Defender's Office plans to follow the case to the end and not only monitor, but also achieve the closure of such large orphanages - under international child rights practice, children in public care should be raised in family-type homes, not large boarding schools. She also expressed fear that after going into the school, it might be difficult to communicate with children, because they might have developed fears and formed stereotypes according to what they have been indoctrinated with in the orphanage.
In years 2016-2021, investigation has been launched into 4 cases - allegations of violence and sexual assault, presumably against the beneficiaries of the boarding house.
Lomjaria announced that the former beneficiary of the shelter has informed about the violence after leaving the institution, which is “another proof that the children there do not have the opportunity to voice these facts - they do not allow the Public Defender, the caregivers never are constantly accompanying them; even during school times, they are completely isolated from the outside world, and there are cases when they leave the institution and try to communicate with law enforcement or the Public Defender.”
As Spiridon Abuladze announced yesterday on the Patriarchate TV Ertsulovneba, there are 150 children growing up in Ninotsminda boarding school. According to the information that was known before, 57 children live in the boarding house; the youngest one is 5 years old.
