The Public Defender of Georgia has issued a report on the visit carried out by the Special Preventive Group to the penitentiary facilityNo 7. After detecting significant violations during the visit to the facility in 2013, the Public Defender issued a number of recommendations on closure of the facility due to the grave conditions there. The main aim of the report is to document the current situation of the facility and to offer temporary measures for relatively improving prisoners’ conditions before the closure of the facility. The Special Preventive Group considers that the measures should be taken immediately.

It should be noted that during the visit, the Special Preventive Group has not received any information about physical violence or verbal abuse against prisoners. However, the difficult living conditions in the facility, excessive use of security measures, absence of rehabilitation activities and lack of contacts with family members and generally with the outside world make it impossible for prisoners to serve their sentences so that their dignity is respected. The Special Preventive Group considers that all these factors pose a threat to the security and public order in the facility and that the risk of physical violence also increases under such circumstances.

On 23 September 2015 Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili, Deputy Public Defender Natia Katsitadze and Head of the Department of Prevention and Monitoring Nika Kvaratskhelia met with Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance Kakha Kakhishvili and other representatives of the Ministry. The Public Defender talked about the problems reviewed in the report. The Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance expressed readiness to take necessary measures for solution of the problems. Ucha Nanuashvili hopes that the Ministry of Corrections will take all necessary steps in the shortest time in order to ensure that the prisoners of the penitentiary facility No 7 live in decent conditions.