Sozar Subari: “The prisoners’ requests are more judicial and political.”

Currently, over 900 prisoners are on hunger strike in the prisons of Georgia, according to the Minister of Correction and Legal Assistance Sozar Subari.

Its almost three weeks since over 50 inmates have gone on hunger strike. They request the commission for miscarriages of Justice to be founded and make amendments in three articles in criminal code of Georgia to liberalize the sentence. Several inmates, who claim that they are imprisoned unfairly, are requesting to have their cases reviewed.

"The prisoners requests are more judicial and political, thats why we cant solve their problems. said Sozar Subari. "We appealed to them several times for stopping hunger strike, but in vein. We are working on the establishing the commission for miscarriages of Justice and we can solve some problems if the prisoners are able to have a dialog with us. We are ready for this dialog. However, the articles of criminal code will not be changed.

The President Giorgi Margvelashvili also commented on the prisoners requests about the amendments to three articles in the Criminal Code.

"I wish that every inmate, who will be released from jail, should be involved in countrys development process. As for their requests to the amendments in the criminal law, thats parliaments prerogative. Neither the Ministry of Correction and Legal Assistance, nor the Ministry of Justice is able to solve this issue. said Giorgi Margvelashvili.

The prisoners, who are on hunger strike, want the government to make amendments in the first paragraph of the article 223 of Georgias criminal code that refers to the connection with the organized crime, so called groups of criminal authorities. They also want to liberalize the article that refers to the drugs.

The prisoners of Ksani Colony claim that the prison superintendents are insulting them, however the Ministry of Correction and Legal Assistance denies this information. The inmates complaints also refer to the medical services in the prisons. They request to use painkillers, which are the psychotropic drugs, according to the Minister of Correction and Legal Assistance Sozar Subari.

"We cant allow having prisoners under the psychotropic drugs. This kind of medicines may only be subscribed by the doctor. said Subari.

The subscription of the psychotropic drugs in the prisons was reduced with the 95% during the last year, according to the Ministry of Correction and Legal Assistance.