Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili was very pleased with his own inventiveness when presenting the new Minister for Punishment Execution, Kakha Kahishvili, to journalists. The premier’s complacence is easily explained: there is no better candidate for the position, from the point of view of favor of the media and human rights NGOs, which traditionally think that “the Prison Minister” is a monster. The head of the penitentiary system is the most dangerous position in the country. Let’s remember the big controversy three years ago – torture in Prison Number 8, due to which another revolution could have happened in Georgia.
The new government headed by Irakli Garibashvili and ‘the informal mentor’ of the Cabinet, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, realized that this position should be taken by a person who was trusted by NGOs and the media. However, there was no matching candidate, as advantages had always been balanced by drawbacks – an absence of experience and professionalism in such a difficult and delicate sphere as the penitentiary system.
From this point of view, Kakha Kakhishvili is a perfect person: he used to be the head of the nongovernmental organization “Social Defender” for a long time, he is a lawyer; and right ahead of the appointment to the minister’s position, he had been working in the penitentiary system for a few months, supervising human rights following in prisons.
The first initiative by the new minister was a suggestion about ‘vacations’ for female prisoners. Kakhishvili suggests that women could be released for a couple of days to visit their homes, communicate with relatives, and after that they would return to the penitentiary facilities. The idea is not new; but the authorities didn’t dare to make such a radical decision, fearing the numerous risks.
However, it seems Kakhishvili managed to convince Premier that the image of the authorities who are taking care about rights of prisoners, who are trying to soften their sad fate, and are taking a compromise in the humanitarian sphere, is much more important than possible problems.
Vestnik Kavkaza found out from the Ministry for Punishment Execution that Kakhishvili’s initiative would be implemented in autumn. Moreover, there will be other changes as well: wristbands will be widely used for a control over prisoners, and they will spend their sentences at home, not in prison; there will be new services for prisoners in cells, including cable television.
At the same time, skeptics hint that liberalism of Kakhishvili is dangerous from another point of view: when Shevardnadze was the president, and the authorities liberalized the regime in prisons seriously, it led to absolute power of “criminal lords” and absence of a control. Saakashvili tried to correct the situation, and it led to tortures which were video recorded and the prison scandal.
Weather Kakha Kakhishvili will manage to maintain the balance, time will tell; but he is the only minister whose appointment was approved by the society absolutely.
