Public Defender Demands Better Conditions for Ill Prisoners

Tbilisi, 01.09.2006, ‘Media News’ – The Public Defender’s Office of Georgia, as well as a centre of defending  patient prisoners’ rights have conducted the monitoring in the jail republic hospital and visited the patients.

According to Public Defender’s Office, the health condition of inmate Malkhaz Zedelashvili, who was injured in head during the jail riot on the 27th of March, is critical.

The representatives of the Ombudsman say that the course rehabilitation and medical treatment after neurosurgery was not conducted properly. According to the patient, he was moved to the mutual commission of the Ministries of Health and Justice on the 16th of August; however the medical research has not been made. Despite that fact, the commission found medical treatment un-adequate and have not transferred prisoner to the department of neurosurgery.

The inmate went on a hunger strike, as a protest and refused to take any medicaments. According to the monitoring committee, the sanitary condition in the cells is terrible. The ombudsman considers that Zedelashvili should be urgently moved to the department of neurosurgery.

The Ombudsman’s Office is working on the recommendations for the Penitentiary Department of the Ministry of Justice.