President, Minister of Corrections create working group to eradicate pardon-related drawbacks
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The Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili and Minister of Corrections Kakha Kakhishvili have met today and agreed to create a working group, involving the president’s and ministry staff to eradicate the shortcomings in the existing pardon procedure.
The statement came after Margvelashvili’s announcement over the temporary suspension of pardons for convicts accused of violent crimes, as on April 13 a man, who was pardoned by the president last year, brutally killed his step daughter.
The working group is meant to prevent unfavorable or tragic incidents which might take place after an individual is pardoned,” Head of President’s Administration Giorgi Abashishvili stated.
The minister had a very interesting vision of how the pardon procedure can be refined,” Abashishvili added.
The president is the only authorised official in Georgia who can pardon prisoners. Applications for pardon are discussed by the President’s Pardon Commission, which later recommends the president inmates who deserve to be pardoned.
The Georgian President has announced today that he is temporarily suspending pardons for individuals convicted of violent crimes in the wake of the murder of a 25-year-old woman in front of her two children by her stepfather in central Tbilisi on April 13.
The Georgian Minister of Corrections Kakhi Kakhishvili has told the Georgian media that he intends to initiate a draft in parliament to restrict "undesired” phone calls by inmates to ex-wives or wives, if the women address the ministry with such a request.
Georgia’s Minister of Corrections Kakha Kakhishvili says that the ministry plans to carry out unprecedented reforms in 2018 to encourage employment in prisoners that will lead to a decrease of prison terms.
Life imprisonment for juveniles is now prohibited in Georgia. The country has a new Juvenile Justice Code that meets international standards.
According to Minister of Corrections Kakha Kakhishvili, Stavros Lambrinidis has recommended to present Georgian achievements in the penitentiary system within the General Debate framework of the UN General Assembly 73rd session since "It would Provide the international community with information on how to implement successful reform in a short period of time.”
The acting Minister of Corrections of Georgia Kakha Kakhishvili told lawmakers today that a project has been prepared which envisages the building of small prisons in Georgia, which will house 500 prisoners each.