President Pardons Inmates before Easter

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili pardoned 19 inmates who will leave penitentiary facilities right away, just before the Easter.

The President also pardoned 23 individuals who were on parole. Two of the prisoners pardoned were women.

The information was released by the Head of the President’s Administration Lasha Zhvania.

Currently, the President’s Pardoning Commission is composed of 10 people. Members are mostly lawyers from the civil sector and public figures, alongside the Public Defender and the Georgian Patriarchate.

The Commission chooses from the inmates’ applications the ones who deserve pardoning and send the list to the President for approval. The President is the only person authorized to grant pardons in Georgia.

In early March Zurabishvili said the commission would be reshuffled and it would be better if it moved to the Justice Ministry. She said the changes would ensure the involvement of representatives of different administrative bodies in the commission work.

By Thea Morrison