Public Defender Requests Long-Term Meetings for Prisoners with Life-Penalty

Public Defender’s office reported that Sozar Subari petitioned to Giorgi Arsenishvili, head of the parliamentary committee of the Human Rights and Civil Integration and requested to allow prisoners with life-penalty to meet their relatives for long-time.

Representatives of the Public Defender’s Office visited the inmates of the Rustavi Prison N 6 in June of 2009 during the monitoring of detention settings. The prisoners with life-penalty requested longer meetings with their visitors.

The Public Defender explained that the draft code on imprisonment does not envisage long-term meetings for prisoners with life-penalty that hinders their valuable relationship with family members and outside world. “According to the international norms, the meetings shall be considered as the right and not privilege of the convicted people. Public Defender thinks that restriction of prisoners’ relationship with outside world as disciplinary sanction is unacceptable. Even more, meetings with family members shall not be restricted. Every prisoner shall have good relationship with family members except separate cases when some meetings might be used for future crimes,” said Public Defender.

Public Defender sent the petitions of the convicted people to the chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee for Human Rights and Civil Integration and requested to discuss the issue once more.

Source: Interpressnews