06:48, 23 February 2015

Life-long prisoners of Gldani Prison ready to start dry hunger strike

Prisoners' relatives near Gldani Prison. Photo by Beslan Kmuzov for the "Caucasian Knot"

The health status of hunger-strikers in Gldani Prison is deteriorating, while authorities pay no attention to their demands, their relatives assert. The Georgian legislation on amnesty and pardon violates the rights of life convicts, said some NGO activists.

The Law "On Amnesty" was signed by David Usupushvili, the Speaker of the Parliament, on January 12, 2013. It covered over 17,000 criminal cases. A year later, amendments to the Law "On Pardon" were adopted, under which the issue of conditional early relief (CER) of convicts for committing grave crimes can be considered not after 25 years after the entry into force of the sentence, but after 15 years.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 26 inmates of Gldani Prison No. 8 went on hunger strike demanding to review their cases in the context of the recent amendments to the Law "On Amnesty". Relatives fear for their health status.

According to hunger-strikers, on February 22, 42 other prisoners joined their protest, stating that they were ready to starve to death, should the state fail to make a particular decision on their fate.

They expressed their indignation at the fact that neither MPs, nor Govt officials have ever tried to meet them.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Author: Beslan Kmuzov

Source: CK correspondent