Kobakhidze: ‘Completely False Campaign’ Launched Over Georgia’s Prisons

A “completely false campaign” has been launched over conditions in Georgia’s prisons, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said during an appearance on Open Air, a programme aired by Georgia’s Imedi TV.

Kobakhidze contrasted the current penitentiary system with conditions between 2004 and the end of 2012, saying prisons at the time were severely overcrowded and that torture and inhuman treatment were the most serious problems.

“First of all, I want to remind everyone what the situation in the penitentiary system was from 2004 until the end of 2012. Prisons were overcrowded, conditions were extremely difficult, and the infrastructure was in a very poor state. Prisoners had to serve their sentences in extremely harsh conditions,” Kobakhidze said.

He said cells designed for eight inmates sometimes held 40 or more people, forcing prisoners to take turns sleeping.

“But this was the least serious problem compared with everything else that was happening. The main problem was torture and inhuman treatment, which were systemic and systematic in nature, and there is extensive evidence of this,” he said.

According to Kobakhidze, Georgia’s prison population stood at around 24,500 at the time, roughly twice the current figure. He also cited prison mortality statistics, saying more than 130 to 140 inmates died annually during that period, compared with approximately 24-25 in recent years.

“Imagine the scale of the difference. More than 130 to 140 prisoners were dying each year because of these unbearable conditions and, above all, because of torture and inhuman treatment, which were systemic and systematic in Georgia’s prisons,” Kobakhidze said.