Tbilisi, Georgia: The Minister of Justice Rati Bregadze opened an international conference in Tbilisi, in which representatives of up to thirty EPTA member countries participate.
Ministry of Justice and Education Center will host the annual conference of the European Union of Penitentiary System Training Centers (EPTA) under the auspices of the organization’s chairman.
The conference is devoted to education and practice development in the penal system.
In his speech, the Minister focused attention on the penal system’s importance to public justice and state security and discussed the successful projects implemented in the Georgian penitentiary system.
Georgian innovation—houses of justice in penitentiary institutions that provide access to state services for convicts—is what Rati Bregadze focused on in his speech.
The Minister also discussed the importance of the Penitentiary Code and noted that it creates special conditions for both convicts and employees.
“The situation in prison institutions best measures the state’s attitude towards human rights, and the Penitentiary Code creates exceptional conditions and also helps staff, improves their social conditions, to carry out sentences with full human rights protection,” said the Minister of Justice.
The Minister also discussed implementing modern infrastructural projects in the penitentiary system and noted that the Ministry of Justice prioritizes the construction of small-scale institutions.
“We are following the trend called the construction of small-scale institutions in penitentiary systems.” On the first anniversary of opening a small facility in Lighturi, we will open a second small facility in Rustavi, which will count for a maximum of 200 convicts. Achievements in the penitentiary system would not be possible without adequately trained officers and staff, providing a new structure at the base of the Justice Training Center, which serves to train the staff of the penitents; a new base of Saakadze was created; great attention was paid to the creation of the infrastructure for the training process, new curriculum m It is organized on the needs of the employees of penitentiary institutions”, – said Rati Bregadze.
Rati Ionatamishvili, Chairman of the Parliament’s Human Rights Protection and Civil Integration Committee, and Gustav Talving, Executive Director of the European Organization of Prisons and Penal Systems “EUROPRIS,” addressed the conference participants.
“Georgia has been part of the Soviet system for 70 years, and the country’s efforts are impressive in how it managed to get out of this period.” Mr. Bregadze, thank you very much for your trust, for supporting EUROPRIS and EPTA, and thank you even more for your continuous efforts to bring the Georgian penal system to European standards, said Gustav Talving.
During the three-day conference, the guests will visit No16 Penitentiary Institution, where they will see small enterprises created for prisoners; they will visit Saakadze Training Center, where they will receive demonstration training and learn about the specifics of the House of Justice’s work.
The Justice Education Center became the chairman of EPTA for a year in 2023. EPTA was founded in 2010, and 36 European educational centers are united in it. The organization plays an important role in deepening collaboration and sharing knowledge and best practices among Penitentiary Education Centres across Europe.
