Conditions in Prison and 7 Inmates with AIV Infection in Geguti Prison

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi

Personal security, food and hygiene supply, medical service, meetings with family members/relatives, phone calls and correspondence with relatives – this is not full list of rights guaranteed by Georgian legislation for prisoners; inmates of Kutaisi Prison # 2 started hunger-strike because they could not enjoy the aforementioned rights.

“Prisoners protest conditions in the establishment, their ill-treatment by administration personnel and lack of medical service. There are really hard conditions there. Prisoners have serious health problems and need immediate medical treatment. Three of strikers have AIV infection. They request to change the regime in prison and medical treatment,” member of prison monitoring council and head of Center for the Protection of Public Interests Manana Managadze said.

Members of the prison monitoring council, which was set up based on special decree of the interim minister of corrections and legal aid Giorgi Tugushi, paid first visit to Kutaisi Prison # 2 and Geguti Prison # 14 on October 24-25. Based on categorical demand of prisoners and their family members the monitors visited Kutaisi Prison # 2 again on November 2 and 5. Seven prisoners are on hunger-strike in this prison. One of them even sewed up his eyes in protest.

“Prison administration told us the prisoner wanted to meet us. That prisoner has poor health and was taken to jail hospital several days before; then he was returned back to Kutaisi Prison # 2. He protests poor conditions in prison and requested to take him to jail hospital again. The prison administration twice satisfied his request; he was returned back to custody based on his personal request. The situation is really alarming and we do our best to satisfy prisoners’ requests. However, there are issues whose resolution require some procedures,” Manana Managadze clarified.

Prisoners protest conditions and lack of medical assistance in prison. They also express solidarity with arbitrary prisoners and name those administration members who inhumanly treated them. They request to adequately punish those people.

“Prisoners complain about arbitrarily imposed punishments and their ill-treatment by prison administration members. They also complained about senior officials of penitentiary department, the minister himself who used to enter their cells at midnight and beat prisoners by truncheons without any reasons. Today, these prisoners request to restitute their rights and properly punish perpetrators. They also demand to fire those people not only from their positions but to hold them responsible for committed crimes,” the monitoring council members said.

Representatives of other human rights organizations speak about restricted rights of prisoners. Lawyers of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association’s Kutaisi office clarified “prisoners’ rights are guaranteed by Georgian legislation which are not often implemented. Nobody shall forget that prisoners’ rights are guaranteed not only by Georgian legislation but by international agreements and pacts. In fact, everything is breached and we have very negative picture.”

Among complaints, prisoners also speak about distributing them in accordance to regime types. As we clarified, inmates are massively taken to strict regime prisons from general ones.

“In addition to that they have nutrition problem. Their meals are not only poorly cooked but are not worth eating either. As we found out Ltd Georgian Food supplies Kutaisi Prison # 2 and Geguti Prison # 14 with food. However, prisoners said in fact they can get proper food only on fasting days – Wednesday and Friday when Georgian Patriarchate sends food to prisons. It is horrible when a person, who has serious health problem, dreams even about food,” the monitoring council members said.

They clarified that most inmates of Kutaisi Prison # 2, where their number is 1350 (1266 of them are convicted and 84 are accused) have serious health problems and need urgent medical treatment. Three of them have AIV infection. Seven inmates have AIV Infection in Geguti Prison # 14.

“Inmates of Kutaisi Prison # 2 complain that a prisoner with AIV infection was placed in their cell and they use common hygiene items like scissors, etc. They said they were tested on AIV infection several days ago but do not know results yet. They are concerned with the fact and urge for help,” Manana Managadze said.

Although prisoners say that situation in penitentiary establishments have improved lately (meaning famous torture facts and inhuman treatment), they added situation is still poor in cells. Monitoring council members, whose authority was expanded till January 31, 2013, agree that new reform shall be carried out in prisons, effective mechanisms for the protection of prisoners’ rights to health and life in order to create conditions for them to feel themselves better. To achieve it, the situation shall be thoroughly changed.