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Foreign Experts Concerned by State of Prison Inmates

June 1, 2006

Foreign Experts Concerned by State of Prison Inmates

Representatives of an international organization gave a negative evaluation of the condition of the Detention Centers in Georgia. Human Rights Watch experts completed their monitoring mission in Georgia. They examined prison conditions, met prisoners and prison officials. The impression they got was not satisfactory and that conclusion will be presented in their special report.

Jane Buchanan and Caroline McGregor have completed a two-week monitoring mission in the country. They visited Tbilisi Prison #5, Tbilisi Prison #7, the Republican Prison Hospital, Rustavi Colony #1, Rustavi Prison #6 and Kutaisi Prison #2.  They met with officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Penitentiary Department and the Office of the Prosecutor General. During an interview with a journalist at the Human Rights Information and Documentation Center, Jane Buchanan expressed her concern about the situation within the Penitentiary System and gave the government of Georgia some recommendations.

Jane Buchanan said: “In our meetings with Georgian officials, we provided preliminary conclusions and stated that we found that the conditions in the prisons and the treatment of prisoners generally fall way below international standards. We are concerned about the overcrowding and unsanitary conditions in the prisons as well as other serious violations of the rights of prisoners; such as the right to health and the right to information. Even in the newly-built prisons, which are generally clean and not yet overcrowded, we found widespread human rights violations. We are also very concerned about physical and mental ill-treatment of prisoners and the apparent lack of punishment for those responsible for such abuses. On the basis of this monitoring, we will prepare a detailed report on our findings that will include recommendations for improving the situation”.

The experts are also concerned with the deaths of prisoners. According to the information from the Ministry of Justice, 47 prisoners died in 2005 and 24 prisoners within the last 4 months of 2006. The experts told us that the Ministry did not provide them with the statistics. “With regard to deaths in prisons, I am not aware of the statistics for 2005. On May 22nd 2006, the Penitentiary Department provided Human Rights Watch with statistics saying that from December 2005 – May 2006 there were 10 deaths in prison. These include 7 people killed during the special operation in Prison #7 in Tbilisi on March 27th 2006. We are very concerned about the death of any prisoner, as all humans have the right to life. We very much hope that the government, specifically, the Prosecutor General’s Office, will undertake a thorough and impartial investigation into any deaths resulting from the use of force by law enforcement officers”, stated Jane Buchanan.

It was not the first monitoring mission carried out by Human Rights Watch. It monitors the Penitentiary Centers in Georgia periodically and is always dissatisfied with the conditions in the prisons. 

Eka Gulua

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