Deputy Minister of Justice, Beka Dzamashvili held a meeting today with the delegation of the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT).

The conversation touched on the measures implemented and planned by the Ministry of Justice and the Special Penitentiary Service in the direction of protecting the rights of prisoners and improving their conditions. Attention was focused on issues such as: the new Penal Code, re-socialization and rehabilitation programs available for prisoners, employment opportunities, construction of new small-scale institutions, etc.

The clearest indicator of the effectiveness of the already implemented reforms is the statistics of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), according to which, after 2012, the European Court has not received any cases sent from the Georgian penitentiary system, which confirms the high standard of protection of prisoners' rights in the country. In addition, according to official statistics, the total number of cases against Georgia in the European Court has decreased dramatically. In particular, by 2011, there were 3045 cases filed against Georgia in the proceedings of the European Court of Human Rights. For comparison, as of January 2023, this number has decreased to 147, which is 20 times less than the data of 2011.

According to the Deputy Minister, the reform of the penitentiary system will be actively continued in accordance with the 10-year strategy of the Ministry of Justice, within which the recommendations of the SPT will be taken into account.

The meeting was also attended by the representatives of the relevant departments of the Ministry of Justice and the Special Penitentiary Service.

It should be noted that the SPT delegation is visiting Georgia for the first time. The main function of the sub-committee, consisting of independent and impartial experts, is to introduce proactive and sustainable approaches to the prevention of torture and ill-treatment in UN member states. The sub-committee will also meet with other government agencies, the Public Defender's Office and representatives of the National Prevention Mechanism. Within the scope of the visit, SPT also visits penal institutions.

After the visit, the SPT will develop a report and issue recommendations regarding the treatment and protection of persons deprived of their liberty in relation to Georgia.

The visit of the delegation started today and will end on October 13.