President pardons prisoners
By Tatia Megeneishvili
Tuesday, August 2
President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili issued an act of pardoning, according which the President granted amnesty to 226 inmates.
According to the head of the Pardoning Commission, Zviad Koridze, there are 11 women and 3 juveniles amongst those pardoned.
“A total of 154 out of 226 will leave the prisons on August 1, while the sentences of the other 72 will be reduced,” stated Koridze.
According to him, the pardoning commission has discussed 1564 cases during discussions on 18-24 July.
The President is the only person authorized to pardon inmates in Georgia. He makes the final decision on which inmates can be pardoned after discussions with the President’s Pardon Commission.
The President’s Pardon Commission is composed of ten people including Koridze. The Commission members are mainly lawyers from the civil sector, public figures, the Public Defender and a representative from Georgia’s Patriarchate.
The Commission discusses all cases sent to the Pardon Commission by inmates or their families and decides which prisoners they believe deserve to be pardoned. The list is then sent to the President.
