Georgian President signs amnesty for thousands of prisoners

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Friday signed a ruling Georgian Dream party-proposed law on amnesty for thousands of prisoners that had been approved by the Parliament last week, the President’s Administration said.

However, the statement by the Administration also emphasised the “humanitarian nature” of amnesty and suggested it would have been “more appropriate” to grant it either after the upcoming parliamentary elections next month or “well before” it.

Before the parliamentary elections, the adoption of the amnesty law by the Parliament at the initiative of the representative party is clearly an indirect form of voter bribery [for Georgian Dream]”, the statement added.

The bill, supported by 84 MPs in the 150-member lawmaking body, will lead to the immediate release of approximately 1,000 convicts, while around 4,000 others will have their sentences reduced. Additionally, about 22,000 probationers will see their terms shortened by at least one year, while 7,000 will leave the probation system.

The amnesty covers crimes committed under more than 300 articles of the criminal code and is applicable to offences committed before July 1, 2024. However, it excludes those convicted of murder, drug trafficking, sexual offences, robbery, terrorism, corruption, official misconduct, organised crime and other serious or especially serious crimes.