Prisoner performs at electronic music contest in Georgia

A prisoner has been given the opportunity to perform his own work at an electronic music awarding ceremony in Tbilisi.

An inmate from Georgia’s #16 penitentiary low risk facility performed in front of a large audience at the Electronauts – annual awards for electronic arts, music and innovative pop culture.

His track, which he had created in prison, was nominated for the category Best Track of the Year.

The Corrections Ministry said that a separate room in the facility had been assigned specifically for this talented prisoner to set up his studio and make music.

This was the first time in the nine-year history of the competition that an inmate competed in the Electronauts, said the founder of the awards Sergi Gvarjaladze.

"This is an important fact and sign that people who are behind bars are not isolated from cultural life”, Gvarjaladze said, adding such things contributed to the resocialisation of prisoners.