nana kakabadze - political prisoners - 2013-01-15

Nana Kakabadze (seated, right) and other members of the group Former Political Prisoners for Human Rights in January, 2013. Most complaints against Georgia have been about prisoner abuse. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The number of complaints against Georgia at the European Court of Human Rights has been reduced by 70 percent.

On Sunday, the Ministry of Justice published information showing that there were 375 complaints against Georgia at the Strasbourg-based court in 2010; 395 in 2011; 367 in 2012 – but only 157 in 2013.

According to the ministry, about 80 percent of the cases reviewed at the European Court of Human Rights concerned violations in the penitentiary system; specifically for torture, mistreatment and problems related to health care.

In 2009, 62 percent of the complaints concerned the penitentiary system; in 2010, 81 percent; in 2011, 89 percent; and in 2012, 81 percent.