18:55, 16 May 2014

Georgia's Ombudsman reports refusals to admit rights activists to jails

Employees of the penitentiary system of Georgia create artificial obstacles to the officials of the Ombudsman in monitoring the prisons, Ucha Nanuashvili, the Ombudsman, said on May 15 the at a briefing in Tbilisi.

"For example, at the Corrective Establishment No. 7 an administration official addressed our representatives in an aggressive and abusing manner and told them to enter an investigation room. In order to soothe the tension, they obeyed, but after they tried to clarify the situation, the employee wouldn't even talk to them and locked them inside," the portal "Tbilisi Week" quotes Mr Nanuashvili as saying.

He told about other cases, when his representatives were restricted in their actions while visiting jails.

"In several places they were ordered to take off their wristwatches, which were needed for fixing the duration of interviews with inmates," the Ombudsman continued, adding that a few days ago he addressed Sozar Subari, the head of the country's Ministry of Corrections, demanding to inspect the actions of his subordinates.