“Today, we will have the opportunity to discuss the issue of penitentiary institutions from many dimensions. It is important to hear all these perspectives and analyze what the situation is in this regard in penitentiary institutions. We will talk about where are the challenges, what are the challenges, and how can these challenges be dealt with”, said Shalva Papuashvili, Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, during his speech at the public discussion of the findings and recommendations of the emergency monitoring report carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) in Georgia.
According to Shalva Papuashvili, the topic and perspective on which the discussion was held are interesting due to the fact that it is an important issue in terms of content, and in addition, there are reports from the Public Defender, the European Committee of the European Convention on Torture, which, according to him, is an important opportunity to analyze the current situation in penitentiary institutions.
“Regarding the elimination of the systematic practice of ill-treatment by the prison administration, it is important that this, as you mentioned, has been eliminated. Challenges related to certain informal hierarchies or structures may exist, and therefore it is important to listen to all these perspectives today and analyze what the situation is in this regard in penitentiary institutions”, said Shalva Papuashvili.
The Chairman of the Parliament drew attention to the supervisory functions of the Parliament and the practice of using relevant supervisory tools.
According to him, the Parliament plans to make relevant changes in this regard as needed.
“As for the supervisory functions of the Parliament. This is also being worked on in order to analyze after the constitutional amendments and new regulations have been adopted, and the Parliament of Georgia has been equipped with new supervisory tools, how these tools work, and what needs to be improved. The Committee on Procedural Matters and Rules conducts research and analysis in this regard. Not just the committee. There are various analytical documents in this regard, and the Parliament plans to make relevant changes in this regard as needed in order to more effectively carry out its oversight functions. Among them, with the help of the Ombudsman and in cooperation with him”, said Shalva Papuashvili.
According to the Chairman of the Parliament, the full report of the Public Defender is planned to be heard at the autumn session, and the evidence obtained by the Office of the Public Defender will be analyzed.
“The full report of the public defender has been submitted, which, according to the regulations, should have been discussed during the spring session, but unfortunately, he could not attend. I can assure you that we will have a substantive and substantive discussion of this report as soon as the fall session begins, as I am always in favour of an evidence-based discussion. Unfortunately, in our politics, and not only in politics, often and among them, the determinant of polarization is that the discussion is not based on evidence and facts but on perceptions and assessments, and in itself, the Public Defender’s report is also important, that we, the evidence that the Public Defender Let’s analyze and draw our conclusions, ” said Shalva Papuashvili.
Public Defender of Georgia Nino Lomjaria and Deputy Minister of Justice Tornike Cheishvili addressed the participants of the event.
The public discussion was attended by representatives of Georgian state agencies, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, international organizations and the diplomatic corps operating in the country.
Also, non-governmental organizations work in the field of human rights.
