Grocery Has Been Opened in “Hungry” Prison

Prisoners started to complain about unbearable conditions in the Kutaisi Prison # 2 since the day it was opened. Food is delivered late, there is not sufficient medical base, and canalization system is in disorder and rain leaks into the building and makes ponds in the cells. These are details which have been criticized for so long time.

Several days ago, relative of two prisoners and frequent visitor of the prison applied to the Human Rights Center’s Kutaisi office. The young woman, who asked to keep her name anonymous, has her husband and brother-in-law in the prison. One of the two men is not condemned yet.

“I will never wish anyone to share my fate. It is real hell. I hear similar stories from my relatives during each meeting. There are a lot of problems in the setting. Do they have right not to feed prisoners? Or should they give prisoners bad food? It seems they have right to act according to their wish here. Situation regarding the parcel delivery is the worst in Kutaisi prison in Georgia. They should give us right to supply our prisoners with food when they do not feed them. We are under permanent fear that having arrived at the prison we would hear some terrible news. A person should expect the worst thing here,” said the young woman.

There are nearly 1500 prisoners in the Detention Setting # 2 of the Penitentiary Department. Some of them are accused and the others are condemned; there are old and young prisoners there; Christians and people from other religions. However, all of them have similar problems-they have unbearable conditions. There is no employee in the prison who can work in the field of social rehabilitation of prisoners. Social service center is almost liquidated in the prison. The office somehow managed to improve psychic conditions for prisoners. According to the specialists, social workers carried out interesting works in the field. Specialists also said that liquidation of the social service center told on the prisoners’ social conditions negatively. According to the information, repeated personnel reduction is planned in future.

Nearly eighteen months ago, when the prison was presentation was held, the chairman of the Penitentiary Department, as well as the prison administration, were too proud for numerous personnel in social department. Today, because of “great reductions” so called social service center remained in the past.

“We will speak about the violations of the prisoners’ rights until these and many other problems are resolved. Prisoners cannot be remained without food or be fed late. We have applied to the prison administration for several times but unfortunately they have not reacted on it. They neither make any comments on the situation. We try to help these people on our own outside the prison,” said Irakli Laliashvili, a member of the Prison Monitoring Council.

Several days ago a grocery was opened in the prison. Each prisoner has an account at the People’s Bank where their relatives can transfer money to those accounts. Manana Managadze, chairwoman of the Prison Monitoring Council, said that “the grocery has information what amount of money each of the prisoners has on their accounts. Thus, they will be able to buy food. The amount of money on the bank account is not limited. If a prisoner allocates a great amount of money and will not be able to spend it in the prison, the money will stay in the bank until condemned has served his term.”

Future will show us whether the grocery succeeds in the prison and does good job there. Social Control Commission for the Detention Setting #2 within the Penitentiary Department started monitoring of the grocery since the day it was opened.

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi