Changes ahead for Georgian prisons
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The Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance has presented amendments to the Imprisonment Law to Parliament.
The amendments aimed to increase the living space of prisoners and longer time of visits, as well as a wider circle of people whom the prisoners are entitled to meet.
If the amendments are adopted, prison guards will be equip with additional tools to use in events where prisoners become violent.
The new law states prisoners' living spaces must not be smaller than two square-metres at the semi-open type of prison, and not less than 2.5 square-metres at indoor facilities while the same space for women defendants must not be less than three square-metres. At juvenile facilities, prisoners' living spaces must not be smaller than 2.5 square-metres and at the medical facility, not less than three square metres.
However according to the amendments, the living space in all types of prisons must not be less than four square-metres for any prisoner and not less than three square meters for the defendant.
If Parliament adopts the law change, a person with whom the prisoner shares a child, step-mother, step-father and parents of the wife or husband will be added to the list of names who the prisoner is allowed to meet. Also upon request, the prisoners and defendants will have the opportunity to have short visits with people who are not listed among those on their prescribed visitor list.
The number and frequency of visits to prisoners would expanding. Female prisoners will be able to have a family visit.
One proposed change criticized by the opposition regarded special tools which will be used on prisoners to enforce safety and security. In particular, the amendment would legalise special tools such as calming hair, calming bed, rubber batons, tear gas, pepper gas, non-lethal weapons, acoustic means and light-sound equipment of psychological impact, water cannons and dogs. Currently, if an incarcerated person harms himself or damages someone else’s property, the only mechanisms currently acceptable are use of handcuff or a calming shirt.
The first deputy Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance, Grigol Giorgadze, said all the special tools which will be used in prisons to ensure security had been tested in European prisons and approved by international standards.
He said the amendments were necessary as human rights watchdog organisations demanded the law should concretely envisage all the freedoms and rights which are applied when a law had been violated.
"These special tools are not invented by us. They have been approved by international standards. We have previously discussed this issue with NGOs, Public Defender and others,” he said.
He also mentioned that everything would be defined in specific detail, so there would be no possibility of misinterpretation by administrative workers or other prison personnel.
"The important part of the reform is that the prisoners will be classified between low risk and high risk groups. Those in the low risk group will be placed in an appropriate prison, which will soon be opened in Rustavi, and a concrete company will arrange employment at a sawmill.
High risk prisoners who do not obey the regime, and try to strengthen their criminal values or impose it on others, will be placed in a strict regime prison, which is planned to be built in Laituri and Orlkhevi,” Giorgadze said.
In addition, if the amendment is passed, one change will be applied to the penitentiary system in general, stating that there will be two different types of prisons.