Gela Mtivlishvili
“Until now we are treated like animals. Initially, we were fed with soup free from oil; now they put as much salt as possible in food to prevent us from eating; then they take the food to their pigs. If we eat salted food we get thirsty but they do not give water. If we protest their treatment, they start to curse us. The personnel and policemen beat us. Doctors do not pay attention to us; the only thing they tell us is: you will die soon. When we requested medicines, administration made us take off clothes and beat us in kidneys; then they pushed us into punishment cell; we are dying,” prisoners from Ksani Jail Hospital for inmates with tuberculosis urge non-governmental organizations and journalists for help.
Inmates claim that they have applied to former and current administration of penitentiary department because of their unbearable living conditions. However, after their appeals the prisoners were even more punished.
“The penitentiary department ordered the director and administration of the jail hospital to react on the concrete facts of harassment we complained about in our appeals. However, the administration abused us even more; we are forbidden to write letters. Now we somehow managed to write this letter and a close person will take it to you. We urge you to inform everybody what is going on in here. We cannot express our protest because we are starving anyway,” the letter is signed by more than 60 inmates.
The Human Rights Center got hold of an individual letter of a prisoner to the President of Georgia, to Public Defender and to Dimitri Shashkin, a new Minister for Penitentiary and Probation.
Prisoner Robert Kharaishvili has been complaining for two months already; his health conditions have seriously worsened. He applied to the administration of the jail hospital several times and requested to start medical treatment on him. Anyway, there is no reaction. “I do not want to leave the chamber to get food because jail administration disregards us; they insult us and treat us inhumanly. I have been requesting medicines for two months but they do not give me anything. The prison has huge yard but they do not let us out in the fresh air. We do not have right to express our protest. If we start complaining, the administration immediately drags us to the punishment cell; the cell is overcrowded with sick inmates. How can inmates with tuberculosis be placed in punishment cell? Animals in the zoo are in better conditions than we are here. I have my throat swollen for four weeks already; I have lost voice and I have terrible pains. I requested the administration to move me to jail hospital but they do not give me even pain-killers,” said Robert Kharaishvili.
Salome Makharadze, spokesperson of the Ministry for Penitentiary and Probation, categorically denies the complaints and accuses of the prisoners from Ksani Jail Hospital.
“Inmates are not placed in the punishment cell in the prison. They are placed in ordinary rooms and all state programs for inmates with tuberculosis are being implemented. In addition to that, rehabilitation activities are conducted in the building. I have visited the place several times and I know that prisoners are taken out in the fresh air. As for food, I will inform the minister and our administration and if the problem really exists, we will resolve it,” said Salome Makharadze.
We could not find out whether Gia Arsenishvili, chairperson of Human Rights Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, had information about unbearable conditions of the inmates in Ksani prison because his answer to our question was: “I give comments only to those journalists who deserve it,” said Arsenishvili.
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