Ruling party plans to adopt amnesty bill to “seriously reduce” number of prisoners

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday announced the ruling Georgian Dream party’s plans to adopt an amnesty bill to “seriously reduce” the number of prisoners across the country and “bring us closer to the optimal European” figures.

Kobakhidze told the Parliament the party would initiate the legislative initiative “in the near future”, with the first reading of the bill scheduled in the lawmaking body next month and eventual adoption planned for September.

"Today's data is not optimal. We have close to 10,000 prisoners in penitentiary institutions, and it is important that the number of prisoners is seriously reduced in the near future in order to bring us closer to the optimal European rate”, he told MPs.

He also added it would be “desirable” to reduce the number of prisoners “by at least a third”, adding the Government believed the bill would “make a serious contribution” to the goal.