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Conditions of Disabled Prisoners in Penitentiary Establishments

December 4, 2015
 
Rati Kharatishvili

Problems related with the prisoners’ rights have been major challenge for the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Aid for many years but state of human rights and conditions of prisoners with disabilities are even harder – reads the 2014 Special Report of the Public Defender of Georgia – State of Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Prison, in Institutions for Involuntary and Forced Psychiatric Treatment.
 
The Report of Public Defender covers period from October 21 to November 13 in 2013. The monitoring revealed that needs of the prisoners with disabilities are not respected in penitentiary establishments; same situation was observed in the Academician B. Naneishvili National Center for Psychic Health and temporary detention settings. 

Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili states there are no established criteria to identify disabled persons in prison.  However, head of central office and legal department Aleksandre Darakhvelidze at the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Aid (MCLA) have different opinion about it.
Darakhvelidze said there are 111 disabled inmates in the penitentiary establishments; among them 4 women and no juveniles. 

According to the Public Defender, delayed process of adaptation of the cells is a problem, though Aleksandre Darakhvelidze denied this information claiming majority of disabled prisoners are placed in the unit for long-term care of the Jail Hospital # 18 (except those who refused to be placed there); this facility is adapted and meets standards. 

According to the head of the legal department at the MCLA, medical nurse provides disabled prisoners with adequate medical assistance.
“Logistic department of the Ministry systematically works on creation adequate infrastructure for the disabled prisoners; namely in 2013-2015 the Ministry rehabilitated the following penitentiary establishments: Prisons N3, N5, N6, N15, N 16, N17 and N18. In addition to that, in 2016-2017 the Ministry plans to equip the facilities with relevant adapted infrastructure for disabled persons,” Aleksandre Darakhvelidze said.

Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili clarified that disabled prisoners do not have free access to information either. “As far as I know, blind prisoners are deprived of possibility to get information with Braille.”
According to the MCLA, magazines and newspapers are sold in the shops of the penitentiary establishments; prisoners can get information from radio sets too. Besides, prisoners can watch cable televisions in the cells. The Prison Code regulates supply of disabled convicts/accused persons with TV-sets, radio-sets and internet.

Low qualification of the prison personnel is one of the major problems in penitentiary establishments. Ucha Nanuashvili states there is lack of staff with relevant qualifications.

“Disabled prisoners have specific needs that are different from the needs of other prisoners though the Ministry of Corrections has not identified the needs of the disabled prisoners as topics of their particular attention and work. The monitoring group could not find medical specialist in any penitentiary establishments, who would have updated information about the management of medical conditions of the prisoners with disabilities. The administration of the prison # 8 admitted that after the jail hospital was closed they have had significant problems of taking care of prisoners with psychic problems,” the special report of the Public Defender reads.

Head of legal department at the Ministry of Corrections Aleksandre Darakhvelidze clarified that there are enough medical personnel in every penitentiary establishment to take care of the prisoners with disabilities.
 
“As for the personnel working in the prison # 8, all of them meet the required qualifications to occupy the vacant positions in the medical department of the MCLA as they are established by the Decree # 64, June 30, 2015 of the Minister of Corrections and Legal Aid. As for the availability of medical service, in case of necessity the prisoners get adequate and timely medical assistance. In addition to that, every beneficiary has access to the service of psychologist in the penitentiary establishments,” Darakhvelidze said.

Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili said another acute problem is hygiene of the disabled prisoners.

“The administration does not care about personal hygiene of prisoners; the inmates have to take care of their hygiene themselves. Although registration documentation of disinfection procedures are in order, kitchen and dining room of the penitentiary establishment do not meet hygiene standards. Toilets are only in several cells. The establishment does not have personnel who will take care of the disabled prisoners,” Nanuashvili told humanrights.ge.

According to the Ministry of Corrections, disinfection is conducted in every establishment once a month.
“Medical nurse of the prisons provides disabled prisoners with adequate assistance in the jail hospital # 18. Thus, hygiene norms are adequately followed there,” Darakhvelidze said.
According to Darakhvelidze, in penitentiary establishments disabled prisoners also enjoy right to make a call that is regulated by the Prison Code. They can call family members and have short-term and long term conjugal meetings. The number of conjugal meetings differs according to the type of facilities. 
Darakhvelidze added there is a shop in the penitentiary establishment where disabled prisoners can purchase different items in accordance to the law. The disabled prisoners serving their terms in closed facilities can purchase products in the prison shop with the assistance of other prisoners working in the economic unit. Every prison has library which is updated periodically; there are audio-books in the libraries.

Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili said although much was improved for the past two years in the penitentiary system, the adaptation process of the environment for disabled prisoners need finalization. 

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