Mothers of Georgian prisoners go on hunger strike with demand of amnesty

At a protest action in Tbilisi, activists demanded from the parliament to quickly pass a bill on a large-scale amnesty in Georgia.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the coronavirus pandemic has raised the issue of the widest possible amnesty for prisoners. Human rights defenders called on the authorities of Russia to announce an amnesty. There is no such campaign in Georgia, but if the epidemiological situation worsens, the authorities may agree to announce an amnesty, Zaal Andjaparidze, a programme coordinator of the International Centre for Conflicts and Negotiations, suggested in April.

Relatives of prisoners prepared a bill on a large-scale amnesty, but the parliament did not respond to it, reported advocate Alexander Kobaidze, an organizer of the protest action.

According to the advocate, the protesters hope for the adoption of the bill before the upcoming parliamentary elections, the "News-Georgia" reports.

As of late May 2020, 341 women and about 9000 men were kept in Georgian prisons. Most of the prisoners are between 26 and 49 years old.

In Georgia, the recent mass amnesty was timed to coincide with the Orthodox holiday of the Annunciation on April 7. Then Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili pardoned nine mothers of minors.