The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published a report on its May 2021 ad hoc visit to Georgia, together with the response of the Georgian authorities.
The objective of the visit was to review the implementation of the CPT’s recommendations made in the report on its 2018 periodic visit concerning steps required to combat the phenomena of inter-prisoner violence, intimidation and extortion and the influence of informal prisoner hierarchy in semi-open penitentiary establishments for sentenced prisoners (so-called “zonas”). The delegation concluded that the issues still exist and reiterated its 2018 recommendations which remained fully valid.
The Committee welcomed the Georgian authorities’ stated determination to implement the measures to address the outstanding issues as a matter of priority under the Strategy and Action Plan on the Development of the Penitentiary and Crime Prevention Systems, in particular as regards semi-open penitentiary establishments (“zonas”).
In their response, the Georgian provided information on the measures taken to implement the recommendations made in the CPT’s report. The CPT report and the response of the Georgian authorities have been made public at the request of the Georgian Government.
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee reiterates its recommendations to address inter-prisoner violence, informal hierarchy in “zonas” in Georgia