Convicts, employees at Rustavi penitentiary facility granted French diplomas after language exam
Examiners from the French Institute monitored the testing, which was hosted in “full compliance with international standards”, the body also said. Photo: Shutterstock
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Convicts and employees of the Penitentiary Institution No.16 in the city of Rustavi received diplomas for successfully passing an international examination in French language following a course taught by a prisoner, the Special Penitentiary Service of Georgia said on Monday.
Representatives of the French Institute of Georgia handed the diplomas to the graduates, with the penitentiary body saying the passing of the exams would help them find employment.
Examiners from the French Institute monitored the testing, which was hosted in “full compliance with international standards”, the body also said.
Convicts and defendants in Georgia will be able to study remotely at authorised universities in the country, the Ministry of Justice announced on Thursday.
A total of 24 inmates have registered for the country’s university entrance exams this year, says the Special Penitentiary Service of Georgia.
Georgia has one of the highest incarceration rates in Europe, show annual statistics on prisons by the Council of Europe.
A bill presented by the Georgian Dream ruling party MPs allows inmates to receive a Master’s degree while in prison as the current law regulates the conditions and procedures only for Bachelor’s degree.“The current law, with the involvement of the Ministry of Education and Justice, offers procedures and conditions only for the Bachelor’s degree for inmates. There are no rules for a Master’s degree,” says the bill.
Convicts and employees of penitentiary institutions across Georgia will receive public services at their facilities in a project promoted as a “Georgian innovation” by the Justice Ministry.
Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze on Monday unveiled a new “small-sized, highest European-standard” penitentiary facility designed for 700 convicts in the western Georgian town of Laituri in Guria region.
Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze on Friday told the Parliament the country’s citizens would enjoy simplified international travel checks with chips, instead of holograms, being used for inspecting their passports.
Ongoing reforms in Georgia’s penitentiary system, including efforts aimed at ensuring accessible education and digital university for inmates, were discussed on Wednesday in a meeting between the country’s Justice Minister Rati Bregadze and heads of the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday highlighted the decreasing number of cases filed against conditions in the country’s penitentiary system in the European Court of Human Rights, in his end-of-year report summarising the work of his Government.