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Female Prisoners on Hunger-Strike for Inhuman Conditions

March 7, 2011
Nino Mikiashvili, Presage.tv

The female inmates of the recently opened prison in Rustavi protest the unbearable conditions in the custody. The representative of the Georgian non-governmental organization “Former Political Prisoners for Human Rights” Nana Kakabadze discussed the problem in her interview with the Obiektivi.net

The news agency Pirveli reported about possible hunger-strike of the female prisoners based on the information provided by their reliable source. According to the information, the prison administration has information about prisoners’ requests.

“Obiektivi.net” interviewed the head of the public relation department within the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Aid of Georgia Tea Sukhishvili who said the female inmates from the Rustavi jail serve their terms in the high-standard detention setting.

Nana Kakabadze from the Former Political Prisoners for Human Rights said the attorneys, who often visit the custody, informed them about the alarming conditions of female prisoners.

Nana Kakabadze: “The legislative changes aggravated the conditions of female prisoners. They cannot meet their family members. They can enjoy neither short nor long-term rendezvous. They can talk with their relatives only by telephone through the glass-window and they protest it. Although this form of rendezvous is long-term practice in various countries, we should remember that prisoners abroad have many other privileges – like holidays in their families.

In the female jail here (which was opened in much noise and they alleged it complied with European standards), the prisoners have to sleep on the concrete floors for what they have got ill with various diseases. They cannot dream about proper medical examination; they cannot even get necessary medicines. They cannot take a proper bath. The prisoners saw that their petitions were not responded and decided to apply to extreme form of protest – hunger strike.”

The dialogue between the head of the Public Relation Department within the Ministry Tea Sukhishvili and the obiektivi.net was as follows:

-    Do you have information that the women prisoners are starting hunger strike today? The news disseminated by the agency states that the administration has been informed on this.

-    Tea Sukhishvili: You are calling to the Ministry. I really do not know what was the letter received by the administration. Does it say that it informed us?

-    Yes, it does. The prisoners are protesting against the severe conditions – living on the cement floor, asking for taking off the glass while having a prison date…

-    They live under the conditions envisaged by the international standards and norms. Each cell has an individual heating. There is no problem of heating.

-    You consider a cement floor to be an international standard?

-    Have you seen the cement floor there?

-    This information has been confirmed by the Monitoring Group of Public Defender in the written form.

-    I will find it out. Call me in half an hour.

We could not contact Tea Sukhishvili after this conversation – we called them numerous times, but they left our calls unanswered.

The group of journalists including the author of this material addressed Khatuna Kalmakhelidze department in a written form asking for a right of one-day monitoring of the prisons. They gave no response to the request. On February 14th, in front of the Ministry building, at the action along with the NGOs and human rights defenders, the journalists once again requested the admittance to the prisons once again with no result.

This is why we could not see the cement floor of the women’s prison. However, the monitoring group of public defender saw it on behalf of the written request of Zaza Khatiashvili, the head of the Lawyers Association.

The brief content of the letter sent from the Office of Public Defender to Zaza Khatiashvili is the following – in all the cells of #5 prison department there is a floor made of concrete, the heating and water system is deranged, the cells are moistened.

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