On April 17, 2015, the Public Defender of Georgia addressed the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia with a proposal to promptly launch and conduct an investigation into a fact of alleged crime committed by doctors of Otar Gudushauri National Medical Center and personnel of the Medical Establishment N18 of the Penitentiary Department towards a now-deceased prisoner.

Simultaneously, the Public Defender stated that it is necessary to promptly conduct a medical forensic examination to determine adequacy of treatment and possibility of avoidance of the received outcome – death.

On the basis of the conclusion issued on April 15, 2015, by the Joint Permanent Commission of the Ministry of Corrections of Georgia and the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, prisoner M. D. was released from serving sentence due to illness when he/ she was in a grave condition in Otar Gudushauri National Medical Center. While, several hours later, namely, at 7.00am of April 16, 2015, a fact of the death was registered.

On December 30, 2014, the prisoner underwent medical examinations at Acad. Z. Tskhakaia National Centre of Interventional Medicine of Western Georgia. On the same day, an on-duty doctor at the Establishment N14 of the Penitentiary Department recorded in the registry that “the convict was diagnosed with chest wall cellulitis, sepsis and it is recommended to transfer the convict to the Establishment N18 of the Penitentiary Department”.

The Medical Department of the Ministry of Corrections of Georgia informed the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia with the letter of February 25, 2015, that at no stage of the course of the illness the prisoner was diagnosed with sepsis though they did not explain grounds and circumstances of the recording (the convict was diagnosed with sepsis) made by the on-duty doctor of the Establishment N14 of the Penitentiary Department.

On April 8, 2015, the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia forwarded M.D.‘s medical documentation to the State Regulation Agency for Medical Activities of the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia for the purpose of assessment of adequacy of medical service and quality of treatment provided for the convict.