31 August 2021, 11:08
COVID-19 spread in Georgian jails raises large-scale amnesty issue
Sofo Djaparidze, a member of the "United National Movement" (UNM) Party, has called on the authorities to amnesty those convicted of petty crimes in order to stop the spread of COVID-19 in prisons.
The Georgian Penitentiary Service has admitted that 105 prisoners are infected with coronavirus, which is one percent of the total number of inmates, the "News-Georgia" reports; 66 of them are in one of the civilian clinics in Tbilisi; and 39 others – in the quarantine space near the Khoni Hospital.
Ms Djaparidze, a doctor and a UNM member, came up with an initiative to immediately amnesty those convicted of minor and less grave crimes. According to her story, it is impossible to maintain the social distance in jails. "Given the infrastructure we have in jails today, it is very difficult to maintain even the distance. Therefore, I put forward a broad amnesty initiative, which provides for an immediate release of people convicted of minor and less grave crimes," Sofo Djaparidze has stared.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 31, 2021 at 03:31 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Galina Gotua Source: CK correspondent
