President pardoned 831 prisoners last year

The president is the only authorized person in Georgia who can pardon prisoners. Photo by the President’s press office.
Agenda.ge, 25 Jan 2018 - 14:05, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili pardoned 831 prisoners in 2017. Out of the pardoned people 539 were released immediately, while the remaining 291 saw their sentence terms commuted. 

Of the 539 people released, 37 were women and two minors, while nine females and four minors have seen their prison terms commuted.

The President’s Pardon Commission held five meetings to discuss 5,130 cases last year.

After the discussion the Commission addressed the president to pardon certain prisoners.

The President is the only person authorised to pardon inmates in Georgia.

He decides which inmates can be pardoned after a lengthy discussion by the President’s Pardon Commission.

The President’s Pardon Commission is composed of ten people including its head, Zviad Koridze.

The commission members are mainly lawyers from the civil sector, public figures, the Public Defender and a spiritual representative from Georgia’s Patriarchate.

The group must discuss all cases sent to the Pardon Commission by inmates or their families and decide which prisoners they believe deserve to be pardoned. The list then is sent to the president.

The president makes the final decision to pardon the inmates or not.