Prisoners will be Allowed to Bring Computers to Jail

Nino Oniani, a judge of the Administrative Department of Tbilisi Municipal Court, satisfied the request of prisoner Gia Patsuria and ordered the Penitentiary Department of Georgia to provide the prisoner with a printing machine. According to the Law on Imprisonment a prisoner is allowed to use a printing machine and carry out individual activities.

Gia Patsuria’s lawyer was Manana Kobakhidze, the chairwoman of the board of “Article 42 of the Constitution”, a union. According to the lawyer: “Patsuria’s demand was based on the Law on Imprisonment which provides that he has the right to have a computer and a printer in his cell, but the Penitentiary Department refused to implement this administrative act. The Department did not provide any grounds for the decision to refuse the prisoner the use of a computer. Exactly this refusal was appealed to before the court and on 12th November the judge satisfied Gia Patsuria’s appeal”.

The prisoner filed an application with the chief of the Penitentiary Department in August of the this year asking him for permission to bring a computer and printer (without an internet cable) into the Rustavi №1 Jail. Gia Patsuria is a journalist and even writes the articles from prison.