Parliament to Discuss the Legislative Proposals of Human Rights Center

Today, at 11:00 am, the Parliamentary Committee of the Human Rights and Civic Integration will discuss the legislative proposals of Human Rights Center. The proposals aims to amnesty the prisoners convicted under the Article 262 of the Criminal Code of Georgia and to discharge prisoners from fines/financial sanctions during their imprisonment period.

In accordance to the survey of Human Rights Center, due to systemic miscarriages of the judiciary authority, in 2006-2012 women prisoners were sentenced to 20-30 years-imprisonment under the Articles 26 and 262 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. Since 2013, the practice was substantially changed and the women are now sentenced to 2-3 years-imprisonment under the same articles. The men prisoners are in the same situation. Consequently, the prisoners convicted in the period of 2006-2012 are placed in unequal conditions. 

Human Rights Center believes that in the situation when the state does not have any mechanism to restore the breached human rights, the Parliament will promote elimination of the judiciary miscarriages if the prisoners convicted under the Article 262 of the CCG will be amnestied.

Another legislative proposal of the Center aims to suspend charging of the prisoners with fines/financial on their loans during imprisonment period. 

Prisoners, who were carrying out business activities before detention and paid income taxes to the state, are disabled to continue their entrepreneurship activities and pay taxes. Despite that, the state charges them with additional fines. 

The state has a positive obligation to promote rehabilitation and re-socialization of prisoners. The purpose of each punishment is to prevent future crimes and rectify former offenders. In the period of imprisonment, if the prisoners are charged with additional fines/sanctions, whilst they cannot carry out any business activities and do not have income, their fundamental rights are violated. At the same time, after the release, the prisoner may have been tempted to pay the accumulated fines with illegally obtained money as it will be almost impossible for him/her to pay the huge debts with legally earned money.