Number of Dead Prisoners Is Incredibly Increasing

Statistics on dead prisoners is catastrophic. 28 prisoners died within three months-nobody remembers similar statistic. It is the statistic of the first three months of 2007. Several days ago, three prisoners died on the same day. Experts call the situation in the penitentiary system catastrophic and urge to take urgent preventive measures.

Ministry of Justice receives information about the death of a prisoner every week. Human rights defender non-governmental organizations state that the official statistic is not real and the number of dead prisoners is higher. However, the statistic is also terrible.

As for the histories of prisoners who died in the jail hospital several days ago, they are the following: Official information states that Vladimer K. suffered from acute intestine infection, shock and prostate adenoma. He was detained for murder in 2004 and was sentenced to nine-year-imprisonment.

Another prisoner was forty-five years old. His diagnose was intestine infection, infection-toxic shock, HIV/Aids…He was detained for storage and realization of particularly large amount of drug and sentenced to six-year-imprisonment.

The third dead prisoner was forty-two years old man. He died in the jail hospital for tuberculosis. Prisoner Genadi Sh. had resistant form of lung tuberculosis. Doctors concluded that the treason of his death was bleeding because of his disease. He was sentenced to twenty-year-imprisonment for robbery and murdering.

Despite the fact that prisoners serve their terms because of committed crimes, human rights defenders state that nobody has right to harass their lives. They define that prisoners are in such terrible conditions that a healthy person cannot avoid serious diseases.

Elene Tevdoradze, chairwoman of the Human Rights Committee of the Parliament is deeply concerned regarding the situation. She worries that government’s attitude towards the ordinary people is inadequate.

Elene Tevdoradze: “28 dead prisoners within three months is really terrible situation. Several days ago three prisoners died on the same day. They were very ill but our law lets Ministry of Justice to release seriously sick people from imprisonment. The only thing that should be done is to carry out medical examination and appeal to the court; however, the Ministry never uses that right. There are occasions when prisoners are taken to jail hospitals when their health conditions are the poorest. Similar situation is caused by the fact that our jail hospital can place only 200 people at a time and more than 400 people are taking treatment now. If a person is in the poorest conditions then he is taken to the hospital at the expense of other ill prisoner. Unfortunately I am very worried. Ordinary people are not properly treated in Georgia. I know that much is being done in the country, but state is made up of people.”

Parliamentary opposition criticizes the government for the number of dead prisoners. Manana Nachkhebia, member of Rights Opposition, said that the first problem in the country is penitentiary system. “Government turned the imprisonment into the source of allocating funds to the budget as well as many other fields. Mostly people are detained to make them pay money as a result of plea-bargain. Besides that, situation is too terrible in the detention settings. A part of prisoners cannot endure the situation and commits suicide. Our government should consider which place do we occupy according to reforms and then make corresponding conclusions.”

Levan Bezhashvili, chairman of the Legal Committee of the Parliament calls urgent the statistic of dead prisoners in 2007. He said that “Statistic of this year is too urgent. Competent officials should get interested in the problem and find out the reality. It is absolutely obvious that our detention settings do not meet the international standards at all.  Main part of the prisons should be thoroughly reconstructed. Moth regime and living conditions should be improved. Much is being done in this field. For example two new prisons were opened; however it is not enough.”

Officials from the Ministry of Justice explain that the increased number of dead prisoners is caused by large number of prisoners in the detention settings. Condemned people’s number has increased in three and four times. Statistics of the last five years is the following. By April 1 2007 there are 16 638 prisoners in Georgia and 28 prisoners died; in 2006 there were 15 423 prisoners and 92 of them died; in 2005 there were 8 895 prisoners and 46 of them died; in 2004 there were 7 200 prisoners and 43 of them died; in 2003 there were 6 274 prisoners and 52 of them died.
Public Defender has also confirmed several times that prisoners live in poorest conditions. On April 6 representatives of the Ombudsman visited Ksani Prison # 7.

Monitoring showed that prisoners lived in unbearable situations. More precisely:

1. No hygiene norms are preserved in the cells, water from the taps is not good for health and prisoners said that most of them got ill with dysentery.
2. Prisoners have no right of correspondence. Despite the Georgian Law, Article 50 Section I on Condemned person has right to send and receive unlimited number of letters.”
3. There are cells in the area of former detention setting # 8 which do not have roofed corridor and prisoners should enter the cells directly from the yard. Cells are damp.
4. Prisoners said that they are not taken for a walk that is envisaged under the law. Under Article 43, if a condemned person, because of regime or some other circumstances does not have right to go for a walk, then he should give an opportunity t spend at least one hour in the fresh air.
5. Prisoners said that they are fed with bad food. Representatives of the Public Defender observed the bad quality of the food during the monitoring. Prisoners also spoke about the facts of physical assault from prison administration members in their conversation with monitoring members.

Eka Gulua