Categories
Journalistic Survey
Articles
Reportage
Analitic
Photo Reportage
Exclusive
Interview
Foreign Media about Georgia
Editorial
Position
Reader's opinion
Blog
Themes
Children's Rights
Women's Rights
Justice
Refugees/IDPs
Minorities
Media
Army
Health
Corruption
Elections
Education
Penitentiary
Religion
Others

Ill Prisoners Still in Prison

September 30, 2005

Ill Prisoners Still in Prison

In the last two months, two prisoners died of aseptic meningitis in the Republican prisoner’s hospital. Because of these two cases, the monitoring Council of the Penitentiary Department accused the minister of Justice Kote Kemularia of indifference and corruption.

The Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre spoke with the head of the Justice Department of the Ombudsman’s Office Goga Oniani about this issue.

The situation in the hospital got critical, after the death of two prisoners and after an inmate’s attack on the director and a doctor of the hospital. After these incidents, 55 prisoners were moved from the hospital to the colonies with the help of the head of the General Inspection of the Ministry of Justice Mr. Pantskhava and the chief of the Department Shota Kopadze,.

One of these 55 prisoners was the under-aged Iashvili, who suffered from a heart disease. Iashvili’s mother contacted the Ombudsman’s Office and held a meeting with Oniani as well. The representatives of the Human Rights Defender’s Office interviewed the director of the Jail David Asatiani and the head of the Medical Department of the Minsitry of Justice Ramaz Guladze. They said that no one has contacted them and asked for a permission to move the prisoners back to jail. According to Guladze, Kopadze organized the movement of the inmates and he knew nothing about this activity. The comments were made from the representatives of Ombudsman’s Office as well and as a result, 45 sick prisoners were moved back to the hospital. This was followed by resistance and incomprehensible comments from the Minister of Justice. The Ombudsman’s Office demanded Pantskhava and Kopadze to take their responsibility. “They did not have any medical knowledge for the decision to move the prisoners back to jail” - said Oniani.

Guladze requested the Ombudsman’s Office to make a new commission, which would check every prisoner moved to the hospital. He said he would be responsible for every healthy prisoner who was taken from jail with his signature. If such cases were not discovered, Guladze demanded to put the head of the General Inspection under responsibility.  Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice Kemularia says that the one who is corrupted in this case, is Guladze, who was acting illegally together with Dzhishkariani, a member of the Monitoring Council, and the representative of the Ombudsman’s Office Lana Galdava. “The Ombudsman’s Office demanded dismissal of these persons earlier than the Ministry of Justice. However, saying that the only responsible and the organizer of the corrupt system is Guladze, is ridiculous.”


Tea Gvaradze
Rusudan Jamaspishvili

 

News