Sentenced for inhuman treatment in prisons
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, July 28
Minister of Corrections of Kakha Kakhishvili says 86 people are serving sentences in Georgian prisons over the systemic crimes committed under the previous United National Movement (UNM) government, referring to the torture and inhumane treatment of inmates under the UNM’s nine-year rule.
The Minister stressed that various cases are being investigated, and certain people have already been placed on wanted lists.
A range of videos depicting torture, rape and other acts of inhumane treatment of prisoners were released prior to the October 2012 parliamentary elections, in which the current ruling Georgian Dream coalition defeated the UNM.
Analysts and the civil sector stated that the release of the videos triggered anger amongst the public and played one of the most important roles in allowing the GD coalition to win the parliamentary race.
The Minister also said that no suicides have been reported in prisons since he signed a decree on the Suicide Prevention Programme for Convicts and Prisoners on February 11 2016.
Since the launch of the programme, more than 170 inmates have been brought out from the suicide crisis with psychological support, Kakhishvili said.
The programme is supported by the Council of Europe and the European Union.
The Council of Europe’s local and international experts have elaborated on a special training programme, through which about 800 medical and non-medical staff of prisons have been re-trained in terms of suicide prevention activities.
