Justice Ministry: European Committee for Prevention of Torture finds no evidence of ill-treatment in Georgia’s prisons

According to Georgia’s Ministry of Justice, on February 18, 2026, the Council of Europe’s European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) published its post-visit report.

The Ministry notes that the CPT has expressed appreciation for the excellent cooperation and full support afforded to its delegation throughout the visit, both from the leadership of the Ministry of Justice and the Penitentiary Service, and from staff at the penitentiary establishments visited.

“The CPT notes that the delegation was able to visit penitentiary facilities without impediment, had access to all documentation requested, and met with convicted persons individually. This serves once again to confirm the transparency of Georgia’s penitentiary system. According to the report, the delegation received no information indicating physical ill-treatment or abuse of prisoners by prison staff. On the contrary, the CPT found that a positive and calm relationship exists between penitentiary staff and those in their care.

The Committee assessed favourably the conditions at the newly opened penitentiary facility in the settlement of Laituri. This entirely new-model institution, designed to accommodate 700 convicted persons, is fully adapted to the needs of both remand prisoners and convicted persons as well as those of the facility’s own staff. The CPT was also informed that a new, smaller facility with a capacity of 150 prisoners is to open in the near future. The Penitentiary Service’s healthcare system likewise received a positive assessment. The report notes that remand prisoners and convicted persons have access to round-the-clock medical care, with rapid access to first aid guaranteed across all establishments.

As regards the recommendations set out in the report, the CPT drew attention to the need to increase the number of out-of-cell activities and resocialisation and rehabilitation programmes, to strengthen mechanisms for the prevention of and response to inter-prisoner violence, and to further improve the working conditions of penitentiary staff. Detailed information regarding the measures already taken and those planned in response to the Committee’s recommendations has already been submitted to the CPT and is publicly available alongside the report itself.

The clearest indicator of the effectiveness of the reforms carried out within Georgia’s penitentiary system, and of the high standard of protection afforded to prisoners’ rights, is, alongside the CPT’s own conclusions, the statistics of the European Court of Human Rights, according to which not a single case referred to the Strasbourg Court from Georgia’s penitentiary system since 2012 has been declared admissible,” reads the statement issued by Georgia’s Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry confirms that the CPT delegation visited Georgia from November 18 to 29, 2024, and again from January 21 to 22, 2025.