18:26, 2 December 2013

Georgia: 150 prisoners of Gldani Prison No. 8 go on hunger strike

As reported by Nana Kakabadze, an activist of the NGO "Former Prisoners for Human Rights", more than 150 prisoners of Gldani Prison No. 8 in Tbilisi have gone on a hunger strike demanding to review their cases.

According to Ms Kakabadze, the protesters also demand that the authorities continue creating a Georgian commission for fixing the justice shortcomings. On November 29, the suspension in setting up the commission caused a hunger strike of 22 inmates kept in different jails of Georgia.

With each day, more prisoners join the mass protests, said Kakabadze.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 18, 2012, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) reported about facts of torture of prisoners in the above Prison No. 8, when the respective videos were made public and caused widespread protests.

As a result, on September 20, 2012, the MIA head Bacho Akhalaya resigned; and on September 22, 2012, the staff of the Gldani Prison No. 8 was dismissed together with David Chakua, the head of the Department of Corrections; while Khatuna Kalmakhelidze, the Penitentiary, Probation and Legal Assistance Minister of Georgia resigned.