In Georgia these days are not holidays for the Georgian Ministry of Justice, police and prisoners. It has been a week since the riots started in the jails of Georgia. These kinds of scenes could be only seen on TV, in Western programs on prisons. This is where the prisoners as a sign of protest are throwing burning sheets out the windows, cursing the wardens and smashing the utensils on the walls. The same is happening in Georgia right now.
The disobedience started in the newly built jail of the second largest city of Georgia – Kutaisi. Furthermore, this prison was built based on western prisons (same heating system and other equipment). At least this is what the local authorities were saying at the entrance of the jail. Perhaps, these jails instigate their “residents” to protest. But the attorneys say that the prison is only an image of a comfortable jail. In fact the riots started because of no water and heat. They also say that the protests have originated long ago because the authorities decided to completely annihilate the criminal world, which is headed by “legal gangsters”, “mobsters”, etc. This caused illegal actions on the part of prisoners.
Everything started because of the dark story about a “legal gangster”, nicknamed Tskripa. Being sentenced to long-term imprisonment Tskripa together with the prison guards were found in one of the saunas of Tbilisi by a group of policemen. A week later it was announced that cell-phones, sharp items are forbidden within the prison. The prisoners complained about that. The special police group started to beat them. This is what the relatives of the prisoners are saying. They were not allowed to approach the prison any closer than 200 meters but they were able to hear the screams of the prisoners. The policemen say that this is only the result of their imagination. But the journalists, who were also kept 200 meters far from the prison managed to film the burning sheets and certain screams. In parallel with the prison in Kutaisi riots also started in some other prisons of Georgia. The prisoners refuse to eat.
The mentioned incidents caused certain staff member changes within the Ministry of Justice and other punishing institutions. The new appointments did not cease the protests though. At present they are only speaking of regulations by the “metal hand”, that is through use force.
Meanwhile during the special press conference the representatives of the “opposition bloc” announced that the things that are happening in the Georgian prisons can be compared only with the “gulags” of the soviet period and the concentration camps of Hitler. “Prisoners also have rights and those should be protected”, they announced. But hardly anyone listens to them. At any rate during the press conference the Minister of Domestic Affairs Vano Merabishvili announced that succeeded in conducting an extremely successful operation and were able to revert the prisoners to Tbilisi… Santa Claus and the New Year are inevitable in the capital city. After that the Minister wished Happy Holidays and said that everything is possible. For some people this period is a holiday, for others – calamity.
We only have to congratulate the audience of the “168 Hours” newspaper on the holidays and pray that Santa Claus doesn’t arrive to us in handcuffs.
Happiness and peace to you all!