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Address of Human Rights Center about the Work of Local Councils at the Ministry of Corrections

December 25, 2015
 
Human Rights Center is concerned with wrong practice and ungrounded decisions on conditional release of prisoners passed by the local councils of the Ministry of Corrections of Georgia. The Center believes it significantly violates the prisoners’ rights. 

Human Rights Center works on the cases of several convicts who were refused to be early released based on ungrounded motives of the local councils. The councils made decisions in accordance to one criterion – the applicants had committed grave or especially grave crimes.

In accordance to typical resolution of the local councils, they have to make decisions on early release based on five criteria: behavior of the convicted person during imprisonment term, crimes committed in the past, past criminal record, family conditions, nature of the crime and character of the convicted person.

As stated in the Article 13 Part II of the typical resolution, the convicted person shall be evaluated based on all criteria. 

In accordance to the Article 40 of the Code on Imprisonment of Georgia, conditional release shall be granted if a convict factually served: at least two thirds of the term of the sentence for the grave crime and three fourth of the term of the sentence for the especially grave crime. That means the convicts for grave or especially grave crimes are required to have served more portion of their imprisonment terms than others.

Declining the early-release applications of the convicts for only one reason that they had committed grave or especially grave crimes blatantly violates the requirements of the Article 13 of the resolution and contradicts the essence of the conditional release of the convicts. 

Applying to the local councils is useless for the prisoners convicted for grave and especially grave crimes because the councils do not evaluate their applications impartially and fairly. In accordance to template decisions of the local councils, although the convicted person meets the criteria of the typical resolution, he cannot be early released because of the gravity of the committed crime.

Human Rights Center works on the cases of the convicts M.T and G. J serving their terms in the prisons # 12 and #15, who were refused by the councils to be conditionally released for one reason – they have committed especially grave crimes though meet other criteria of the resolution. M.T. has been serving his imprisonment term since 2007 and will have his term finished in 6 months; G. J. has been in prison since 2004 and 1 year and 8 months is left before the end of his term.

With the support of Human Rights Center M.T and G. J appealed to the Tbilisi City Court and requested to annul the decision of the local councils and order to issue decision on their conditional release. The Court satisfied the appeal of M.T and annulled the refusal of the local council. As for G.J the Tbilisi City Court is still processing his appeal.

In addition to that, Human Rights Center works on several other cases where beneficiaries were groundlessly refused by local councils to be conditionally released.

Human Rights Center calls on:

The Ministry of Corrections to study and analyze the work of local councils and elaborate policy document for the improvement of the work of local councils;

Local councils of the Ministry of Corrections to review its work practice and make their decisions compliant with the human rights and legal standards. 

Human Rights Center 

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