Legislative Proposal of Human Rights Center On the amnesty of prisoners under article 262 of CC

According to the Article 150 - 2 of the regulations of the Parliament of Georgia, we present a legislative proposal regarding the amnesty of prisoners regulated by the article 262 of CC. 

Factors that caused necessity to adopt a law on amnesty 

In terms of the unconditional agglomeration of sentences particularly inadequately long sentences for drug-related crimes have been a systematic problem of Georgia for years. Unfairly long sentences were particularly typical towards women prisoners. 

Women prisoners have served 8, 10 and more years in prisons. They were charged under articles 260 and 262 of CC and sentences to 25, 30 and more years of imprisonment by the court.

 

There are women prisoners remaining in the facilities of the Penitentiary Department. Charges under the Article 260 of CC were removed from these women under the amnesty of December 28 of 2012. However they still remain in prison in accordance to the article 262 of CC and have been serving their sentences for a long period of time.

 

On May 11 in 2015, Human Rights Center requested the Supreme Court of Georgia to provide statistical information about the number and terms of women prisoners who have been charged under articles 260 and 262 of CC in 2006-2014 and 4 months of 2015 by the courts of first instance of Georgia. 

By analyzing the statistical information, it is possible to make a conclusion that, because of the systematic miscarriages of justice, in 2006-2012, women prisoners, based on articles 260 and 262 of CC, were sentenced to inadequately long sentences- 20-30 and more years of imprisonment, which essentially violated their rights. 

Since 2013, persons have been sentenced only to 2-3 years of imprisonment under the same articles. The convicts who were judged in 2006-2012 are inherently in an unequal situation in comparison with the new prisoners. Accordingly, the state has to make effective steps regarding the protection of these convicts. It is inadmissible that some convicts are sentenced to 2-3 years of imprisonment while those prisoners who have been judged for the same crime, before 2012, are sentenced to 15 and more years of prison.

 

Also, it is notable that, while smuggling drugs, article 262 was added to article 260, which has to be considered as absolutely unjustified. By adding these articles the minimum sentence was 23 years, when article 262 of CC includes in itself the article 260, because it is uniquely qualified that a person has purchased narcotics and smuggled them.

 

Even by the 2012 act of amnesty, only 1/3 reduction of the sentence applied to the article 262 of CC for women prisoners. Thus, women prisoners who are serving inadequately long sentences for years based on article 262 of CC, were particularly abused. 

In addition to this, Human Rights Center fully shares the opinion of prisoners that it was illogical to keep article 262 when article 260 was dropped from everyone by the amnesty.

 

During visits to prison N5 of the Penitentiary Department, the monitoring group of Human Rights Center repeatedly met those women prisoners who are serving their sentence under article 262 of CC. Before the amnesty, they were sentenced to 30, 25 and even more years of imprisonment for drug-related crimes. 

The women prisoners talk about the fact that after the parliamentary elections of 2012, a new Government promised them to review articles 260 and 262 of CC and to create an effective internal mechanism for reconsidering the inadequately long sentences. This has been partially implemented. 

Unfortunately, the changes still have not affected the article 262 of CC and meantime, the Government has not created an effective internal mechanism for reconsidering illegal and ungrounded verdicts yet. Still, the convicts have no possibility for revision of their inadequately long sentences for drug crimes, which violates their fundamental rights.

A fair dissatisfaction of women prisoners is caused by the fact that the President and the Pardon Commission refuses to pardon the prisoners who had served a half or even two thirds of their sentences based on article 262 of CC, before the Parliamentary Elections. 

Also, women prisoners think that it is unfair that the recent changes in the Criminal Code of Georgia did not affect the article 262 of CC.

 

The same situation is regarding men prisoners. They are still serving inadequately long sentences in penitentiary facilities for drug crimes.

 

Based on the above, Human Rights Center believes if there is an internal mechanism for restoration of violated crimes, by announcing the amnesty regarding the article 262 of CC, the Parliament will promote the process of rebuilding justice. 

Formulation of the proposed article for the act of amnesty (article 262 of CC):

1. A person who was convicted for the first time in 2006-2012, for the drug crime under the article 262 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, shall be released from the criminal liability, if their crime is not qualified as sale of narcotics, their analogs, precursors, psychotropic substances, their analogs or potent drugs.

 

2. Sentence of persons who were convicted for second or third time under the article 260-262 in 2006-2012, shall be reduced with ¼.

The aim of adopting the law on amnesty

The aim of adopting the law on amnesty is to alleviate situation of those convicts who are serving inadequately long sentences for drug crimes because of the miscarriages of justice in 2006-2012.

 

Please inform us about your decision.