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Prisoner with Blood Cancer Urges for Pardon

August 8, 2007

gamxuashvilis_dokb.jpg“Who will be responsible for my son’s death?”-asked the mother of the prisoner.

Vitali Gamkhuashvili has served his imprisonment term for a year already. He pleads himself guilty and urges for pardon. Initially Kharagauli District Court and then Kutaisi Appeal Court sentenced twenty-two-year-old Gamkhuashvili to three-year-imprisonment. None of the court instances took into consideration that the accused was sick with blood cancer.

Gamkhuashvili visited his uncle in the village of Vakhan where he stole copper and aluminum saucepans from his relatives’ house. The accused could not hire a lawyer and nobody managed to introduce the court with medical conclusions on Gamkhuashvili’s health that could prove his disease.

The court sentenced the accused to three-year-imprisonment and charged to pay 568 lari to the victim. Gamkhuashvili appealed to the Kutaisi Appeal Court against Kharagauli District Court’s verdict; yet he did not introduce medical conclusions to that court either. Gamkhuashvili has medical conclusion that states that patient has third stage of blood cancer and is “invalid for labor”.  There are two more medical conclusions, one issued by Cancer-Hematological Center within the Iashvili Children’s Clinic and the other was issued by the Cancer-Hematological Center within the Children’s Republic Hospital. Both of them verify that the accused is really ill with blood cancer and requires immediate treatment. Gamkhuashvili’s mother gathered all corresponding materials when her son was operated on at Jail Hospital.

Gamkhuashvili serves his term at Ksani Prison. Mother of the prisoner is also disabled person of the second group and she supposes that her son will not be released alive from the prison because of bad medical treatment.

“They took him to Jail Hospital. The doctor there demanded to invite cancer doctor who operated on my soon. They amputated cancer knots from groins and then sent him back to Ksani Prison. He has blood disease and received allowance for the reason. The disease has already spread in his body and has some rushes on the skin. They do not give him medicines and if he were out I would have paid proper attention to him. My son has been taken several chemotherapeutical treatments. I admit that my son was guilty but if he dies in prison, who will be responsible for that?” said the mother.

Vitali Gamkhuashvili petitioned to the President for pardon. The prisoner pleads himself guilty and says that unbearable pain made him commit a crime.

“I plead guilty for the crime which I committed because of terrible pain. I did not have money for painkillers,” said Gamkhuashvili in his petition where he beseeches the president to show mercy to him and allow him to spend rest of his life in his own home with relatives.

Since the poor family could not hire a lawyer to defend their son, they could not appeal to the Supreme Court against the verdict passed by Kutaisi Appeal Court. Neither the court took the illness of the accused into consideration.

Georgian Criminal Code, Article 74 states that a person shall be discharged from penalty if
“s/he comes down with serious disease before or after committing the crime that will prevent him/her to serve the term.”

The same is envisaged by the Criminal Procedure Code, Article 29 which states that criminal prosecution shall be dropped if the accused comes down with serious disease.

Many non-governmental organizations are concerned regarding unbearable conditions in prisons. Particularly difficult is the situation for oncological patients who cannot even dream about being taken to jail hospital.It is noteworthy that according to Ministry of Justice 55 prisoners died in detention settings before July 1 2007.

Thea Tedliashvili, Gori

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