The violation of the convict’s right to correspondence has been proved at Penitentiary Establishment No. 6.

Convicted R. Sh. has often applied to the Public Defender, noting that the penitentiary institution periodically does not ensure that his applications/complaints are sent to various agencies. In his latest application, the convict indicated that on November 22, 2022, January 26, 2023, January 30, 2023, February 1, 2023 and February 13, 2023, he gave confidential complaints to the social worker to be sent to specific agencies, however, they have not been sent.

The Public Defender’s Office studied the cases indicated by the convict. As a result of examining the footage of surveillance cameras installed in the institution, it was found that the convicted person had indeed given confidential complaints to the social worker on the specified days. However, when we requested the relevant information, the penitentiary facility denied such a fact.

After studying the case, the Public Defender sent a proposal to the Minister of Justice of Georgia and demanded the initiation of disciplinary proceedings relating to the violation of R. Sh.’s right to correspondence. Based on the proposal, an official inspection was conducted in the Monitoring Department of the Special Penitentiary Service. As a result, the fact of committing a disciplinary offence by the employees of the penitentiary institution was proved and disciplinary sanctions were imposed on three persons.

The Public Defender once again emphasizes the importance of unhindered realization of the rights of the accused/convicted persons in penitentiary institutions, including the right to correspondence. The Office will continue active monitoring in order to detect and respond to the deficiencies in this direction.