President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili on Wednesday pardoned 95 prisoners in connection with Orthodox Easter. The pardon decree was issued on April 27, and 69 of the pardoned prisoners have already left jail, according to Zviad Koridze, […]
Zviad Koridze. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian president pardoned 155 prisoners on Wednesday. 105 of them will leave jail today. The commission met on February 21-22, and considered 1,178 cases. 105 were completely pardoned, while the rest had their sentences […]
President Giorgi Margvelashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian president pardoned 238 prisoners on Friday, 18 of whom were women and three minors. According to Zviad Koridze, head of the president’s pardon commission, 172 prisoners will leave jail today. 11 of them are women and two are minors. […]
Teona Kolbaia. (Imedi.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A woman who has twice been convicted of robbery is a participant in the talent show Voice of Georgia. Tuesday, she was told live during the show that she has been pardoned and given a car. The Voice accepted Teona Kolbaia during casting […]
Aleko Elisashvili, city council member and former head of the president’s pardon commission. TBILISI, DFWatch–The question of whether politicians tried to use their influence to fast-track the pardoning of certain prisoners was no closer to being settled Wednesday, after prosecutors had questioned at least 30 people. Prosecutor Koka Katsitadze said he doesn’t […]
Aleko Elisashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The the former head of the president’s pardon commission was questioned at the Prosecutor General’s Office on Monday. Aleko Elisashvili claims he was pressured by authorities to give a favorable decision in the cases of specific prisoners, […]
Manana Kobakhidze. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The vice speaker of the Georgian parliament confirms that she approached the president’s pardon commission and requested to have certain prisoners pardoned. The admission came after a newspaper published information based on […]
Aleko Elisashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Government officials tried to pressure the president’s pardon commission into releasing certain prisoners, former commission head Aleko Elisashvili claims. The current head of the pardon commission, Zviad Koridze, says he can confirm Elisashvili’s […]
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian Orthodox Church issued a short statement Sunday evening explaining that Patiarch Ilia II never meant to ask for legislative amendments to grant him the right to pardon prisoners. December 5, the patriarch attended a performance by women prisoners at Rustaveli Theatre, […]
Patriarch Ilia II. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church has asked for the power to pardon prisoners. Catholicos Patriarch Ilia II said Saturday that he thinks a patriarch should be able to pardon prisoners and added that he has spoken with the prime minister […]
President Giorgi Margvelashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has rejected a call by his predecessor Mikheil Saakashvili that it is a test of ‘decency’ to pardon three former top government officials who are convicted of crimes committed while in office. Saakashvili, who is now […]
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili practiced sarcasm on Thursday. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday accused President Giorgi Margvelashvili of being pro-National Movement, after the latter pardoned the brother of a member of that party, which is opposed to the government. Among 98 prisoners […]
(DF Watch.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian president on Tuesday pardoned 78 prisoners in connection with Easter. Zviad Koridze, Head of the President’s Pardon Commission, said at a press conference that 57 prisoners will be released from jail today. The remaining 21 had their […]
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–President Margvelashvili on Thursday converted the sentence of a man so he will no longer need to spend the rest of his life behind bars. The head of the president’s pardon commission Zviad Koridze said the most serious crime the prisoner […]
Geguti prison camp. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Nearly a hundred prisoners have been pardoned in Georgia, partly in relation to the New Year celebration. Most of the prisoners who are being freed or have their sentences reduced were pardoned by the president’s pardon commission; one of two […]
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili pardoned 121 prisoners in connection with the celebration of Giorgoba, an important Christian holiday in Georgia. 93 of those who were pardoned left prison the same day Friday, while 28 prisoners had their […]
President Giorgi Margvelashvili has pardoned 463 prisoners so far this year. (DF Watch.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Wednesday was probably the happiest day in the lives of 88 prisoners in Georgia, as they were allowed to walk free following a presidential pardon. Another 27 got their sentences reduced by half or one third. The decree by President Giorgi […]
Prison No 8 in Gldani, Tbilisi. (DF Watch.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The president of Georgia on Thursday pardoned 280 prisoners. According to the new head of the president’s pardon commission Zviad Koridze, eight of those pardoned are women and 10 minors. The commission has reviewed 2,744 cases. […]
Prison No 8 in Gldani, Tbilisi. (DF Watch.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The parole commission decided at a session Tuesday to release 79 prisoners. According to the Prison Ministry, 69 of those up for release are men, 10 are women. Two of the women had their sentence converted to community work. During the session, […]
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–69 prisoners were released from jail on Saturday, following a decision by local prison boards and the Prison Ministry’s pardon commission. Altogether, the bodies have reviewed the cases of about 770 prisoners in three days, according to the Prison […]
Prison No 8 in Gldani, Tbilisi. (DF Watch.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili on Sunday pardoned 54 prisoners. Two of them are minors, and one is a woman. The pardoning took palce in connection with Epiphany, a holiday usually celebrated on January 19. It is regular practice for the […]
The Prison Ministry’s pardon commission during a session in November, 2013. (Ministry photo.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia has released 87 prisoners in connection with New Year’s Day. Four of the released are women and 83 are men, according to the Prison Ministry. The decision was made by the ministry’s pardon commission, one of two such bodies that recommend […]
President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–President Giorgi Margvelashvili signed his first decree to pardon 75 prisoners on Wednesday. According to the head of the president’s administration Lasha Abashidze, 54 of the prisoners were released, 14 got their sentence reduced to half, while […]
Ombudsman Ucha Nanuashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The president’s pardon commission gave a positive recommendation in 54 of recent applications from prisoners. The commission which is one of two such bodies, the other one part of the government, was recently staffed by the […]
Aleksandre Elisashvili, a well-known TV journalist, is new head of the president’s pardon commission; one of two such bodies. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–President Giorgi Margvelashvili has replaced some of the members of the presidential pardon commission, one of two commissions which review applications from prisoners for reduced sentence or early release. Aleksandre Elisashvili, a well-known […]
The pardon commission meeting Saturday. (Prison Ministry photo.) TBILISI, DFWatch–151 prisoners were let out of jail on Saturday, after a session of the prison ministry’s pardon commission held at the women’s facility in Rustavi, 20 km away from the capital. The commission discussed 700 applications for reduced sentence or […]
Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The pardon commission has sent the president a list of more than 150 prisoners who they recommend be pardoned. Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili told journalists after a commission session on Sunday that 120 of the prisoners will be released […]
People queued outside the president’s palace to apply for a pardon. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–President Saakashvili has pardoned about 18 000 people on probation or already finished serving their sentence. The president signed a decree which has been sent to the appropriate bodies in order to be enforced. Andro Barnovi, head of the […]
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–429 prisoners were released on Wednesday in connection with the Georgian religious holiday Mariamoba. August 28, Georgia celebrates the assumption of Mary, known as Mariamoba. In connection with the holiday, the president customarily pardons […]
Elene Tevdoradze, head of the pardon commission. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The pardon commission on Friday reviewed the cases of 500 prisoners. 217 were given a positive recommendation. The commission received recommendations from the president, who has the right to pardon prisoners independently or based on the […]
TBILISI, DFWatch — While on Monday parliament discussed a draft bill about amnesty, the pardon commission reviewed 1 400 cases of prisoners, but made a decision to release less than half of them. The pardon commission studies cases of prisoners to prepare a list […]
TBILISI, DFWatch — Georgia’s new government plans to give thousands of prisoner amnesty, but has not yet specific what categories of prisoners will be released. The most recent figures, from July 1, 2012, show that there were 23 406 prisoners in Georgia at the […]
TBILISI, DFWatch - The President pardoned 114 convicts today, according to the Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance. 75 prisoners, four of whom are women, will leave jail, while 13 prisoners had their sentence halved and 26 had their suspended sentence lifted. The commission to review early release reviewed cases it had received from local councils [...]
