Khatiashvili: conditions in Women's Prison No. 5 are substandard

The custody conditions at the Correction Establishment No. 5 were discussed at a press conference held by Zaza Khatiashvili, Chairman of the Bar Association of Georgia on January 18.

"I've received several complaints from advocates, whose clients are kept in No. 5. According to these reports, women sleep on iron nets from beds, placed right on concrete floor. The ECtHR (European Court of Human Rights) has already made decisions on similar facts, when prisoners slept on the floor, and found such treatment of humans to be torture," Zaza Khatiashvili told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Besides, according to his story, half of showers in the jail are broken; women have to dry their clothes in their cells by spreading them directly on those beds where they sleep.

Women's Prison No. 5 was opened in December 2010; and, as stated by President Mikhail Saakashvili at the opening ceremony, should meet all European standards.

"When opening the prison, President Saakashvili again held a PR action, where he tried to throw dust in people's eyes. But, in fact, all the footage was staged, and a month after opening it turned out that the conditions there are just horrible," said the Bar Chairman.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told at the Ministry for Corrections that Khatiashvili's statements caused their surprise. "These facts have nothing to do with reality. We are open to monitoring; the Commission and the Ombudsman may come and check the conditions in Jail No. 5 - we have nothing to hide," said Teya Sukhishvili, head of the press service of the Ministry for Corrections.

According to her story, the beds where prisoners sleep comply with the standard beds, installed in European prisons. "As for the showers, I don't know why some of them are inoperative. Maybe someone broke a shower in this or that cell; maybe it's just a technical failure. But the prison also has a bath and a laundry; so women can bathe and wash clothes in normal conditions," Teya Sukhishvili told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Zaza Khatiashvili, Chairman of the Bar Association, finds it unreasonable to demand from the Ministry to hold inquiry; in his opinion, the penitentiary system is under the influence of the president.

"The president is deliberately pursuing the policy towards tougher conditions in prisons. That is why, I sent an application to Georgian Ombudsman Georgiy Tugushi, where I call to set up a commission - within ten days - and investigate the situation in Women's Prison No. 5. If this is not done, I'll turn to international human rights organizations," said Zaza Khatiashvili.