Amid protest action, Georgian Parliament adopts amnesty law

Georgian MPs have approved the draft law "On Amnesty", which covers more than 2000 convicts. Several dozen residents of Georgia came out to a protest action outside the parliament building, demanding amnesty for a quarter of the country's convicts. 

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 8, in Tbilisi, marchers demanded from the Georgian Parliament to amend the amnesty bill so that to release at least a quarter of all the prisoners.

The bill covers the convicts who had committed their crimes before December 11, 2020. Besides, those convicted of drug crimes to life imprisonment will be transferred to a 20-year term.

The MPs have expanded the list of articles of the bill, taking into account the norms of public safety, Anri Okhanashvili, the chairman of the parliamentary legal committee, has explained. The draft law did not include grave articles of the Criminal Code, Mamuka Mdinaradze, the chairman of the "Georgian Dream" parliamentary faction, has added.

Meanwhile, several dozen residents of Georgia came out to a protest action outside the parliament building, demanding amnesty for a quarter of the country's convicts. They also pointed to poor prisoners' custody conditions during the pandemic.

"Genocide of our young people is observed in Georgia ... The amnesty should be extended to everyone," said one of the female protesters.

"This bill is not a humane act: there is a discriminatory attitude towards prisoners," Giorgi Sisvadze, an advocate, said on air of the "Mtavari Arkhi" TV Company.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 12, 2021 at 00:55 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.