SITUATION IN PENITENTIARY INSTITUTIONS
The case concerning M.G.
On 10 December 2013, a member of the Special Preventive Group met with M.G., a convicted prisoner, at the
Penitentiary Institution No. 7. According to the prisoner, in the evening of 7 December 2013, he had some minor
disagreement with a staff member of the Institution. 5 minutes after the incident, the staff member told M.G. the
boss wanted to talk to him. The staff member then escorted M.G. from his cell to the administration premises
where there they were met by the director, two of the director’s deputies and some other prison officials. They
wanted to know why M.G. used foul language against the staff member and started to beat him. According to the
prisoner, the beating lasted for about 5 minutes. He was then escorted from the administration room towards his
cell. As they were passing through the corridor, M.G. told other prisoners that he had been beaten up. He was then
taken back to the administration room where he was handcuffed and beaten up again. The prisoner had visible
injuries on his body.
On 11 December 2013, the Ministry of Corrections published information on its website that the Ministry’s Inspectorate-General launched internal examination on the basis of a complaint filed by M.G.’s lawyer.
With a view of ensuring effective investigation in the ill-treatment administered against M.G., the Public Defender
addressed the Ministry of Corrections with a recommendation to forward the case to the Prosecution Office for
their response. This recommendation was upheld.
The case concerning I.N.
On 10 May 2013, the Special Preventive Group met with and talked to I.N., a convicted prisoner at the Penitentiary
Institution No. 7. According to the prisoner, the same day he was visited by representatives of the Penitentiary
Department whom he informed about alleged violations of prisoners’ rights in the Institution No. 7. He was then
taken out in a yard which is normally used b prisoners for taking a walk. According to the prisoner, he was approached by the Deputy Director of the prison who complained of the fact that the prisoner provided information
to the members of the Penitentiary Department. As the prisoner stated to us, he was verbally abused, punched with
a hand and beaten with a club in his back and sides by the Deputy Director. Our Special Preventive Group member
documented the injuries on the prisoner’s body.
The Office of the Public Defender forwarded materials of this case to the Chief Prosecution Office for further
response. According to a reply received from the Prosecution Office, on 13 May 2013, they opened investigation
into alleged exceeding of official power by the officials of the Penitentiary Department under Article 333(3) of the
Criminal Code of Georgia. The Tbilisi Prosecution Office is investigating the case.
The case concerning D.B.
The Office of the Public Defender forwarded a copy of a protocol of our conversation with D.B. to the Chief
Prosecution Office for their response. Through its Letter No. 13/6703 dated 11 November 2013, the Prosecution
Office replied that the Investigation Department of the Ministry of Corrections opened investigation into Criminal Case No. 073250913005 under Article 3782 of the Criminal Code of Georgia but no separate investigation has
started on account of alleged ill-treatment of the prisoner.
The case of D.O. and N.B.
On 6 December 2013, D.O. and N.B., convicted prisoners from the Penitentiary Institution No. 6, furnished the
Office of the Public Defender with information. According to the prisoners, in mid-November 2013, they went
2013
On 30 September 2013, trustees of the Public Defender met with and talked to D.B., a convicted prisoner at the
Penitentiary Institution No. 2. According to the prisoner, on 25 September 2013, a prison official took him out of
his cell by deception. Then, by using force against him, he was taken to a solitary confinement cell in Building A by
the Chief of Prison Regime Unit and the Shift Leader. As D.B. stated to us, he was driven into the solitary confinement cell, handcuffed and abused both verbally and physically. In particular, the Prison Deputy Director punched
him with a fist into his face several times. The prisoner says he was spent the entire night handcuffed in the cell.
NPM Report
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