Prime Minister: An absolutely false campaign regarding prisons has been launched; I want to remind everyone of the situation from 2004 to the end of 2012—prisoners were serving their sentences in dire conditions

Prisons are a topical issue today, and you know that an absolutely false campaign has been launched regarding this subject, - Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated on Imedi TV channel.

According to Kobakhidze, from 2004 to the end of 2012, "prisoners had to serve their sentences in dire conditions, and, furthermore, the main problem was torture and inhuman treatment."

"First of all, I would like to remind everyone of the situation that existed in the penitentiary system from 2004 through the end of 2012. Prisons were overcrowded; conditions were dire—including the state of the infrastructure—and prisoners were forced to serve their sentences in appalling circumstances. Often, a single cell intended for, say, eight inmates would house forty or more. The situation was severe; prisoners had to take turns sleeping, and that was the least of the problems compared to everything else that was happening. The primary issue was torture and inhuman treatment—practices that were both systemic and systematic—and there is abundant evidence of this. The inmate population stood at 24,500, whereas today, as you know, it is half that number. The mortality rate speaks volumes: it exceeded 130 to 140 deaths annually. Recent statistics show a figure of approximately 24–25 inmates, which aligns with international standards. Just imagine the magnitude of the difference—going from over 130 deaths a year. More than 140 prisoners were dying precisely because of these unbearable conditions—and, first and foremost, due to torture and inhuman treatment that were systemic and systematic in nature within the prisons," the Prime Minister noted.