On April 12, 2018, Public Defender Nino Lomjaria met with Minister of Corrections Kakha Kakhishvili and received information about the reforms implemented and ongoing in the penitentiary system, as well as the future plans.

The situation and challenges in the penitentiary system described in the Public Defender’s Report on the Situation of Human Rights and Freedoms (2017), the legislative amendments aimed at improving the prisoners' rights situation, as well as the implemented and planned infrastructural projects, were discussed at the meeting. According to Kakha Kakhishvili, one of the priorities of the Ministry of Corrections is to bring the penitentiary institutions in compliance with the modern standards.

Public Defender Nino Lomjaria praised the recent reforms implemented in the penitentiary system, but noted that there remain a number of issues that need to be necessarily solved.

The Minister of Corrections expressed his hope that cooperation with the Public Defender’s Office would be fruitful and the existing challenges would be positively resolved as a result of joint consultations.

The meeting was attended by Giorgi Burjanadze, Deputy Public Defender of Georgia, Nika Kvaratskhelia, Head of the Department of Prevention and Monitoring of the Public Defender's Office, and representatives of the Ministry of Corrections.