The present document is a report on the visit undertaken by the National Preventive Mechanism of Georgia on 19-20 October 2014 to the Prison N14. During the preparation of this report, along with other materials, the technical reports of experts participating in the visit of the National Preventive Mechanism were also used. The documents acquired during the visit, as well as the reports of the members of the monitoring group, are stored in the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia. The present report contains the main findings of the monitoring group and is structured in a way that will not allow the identification of the respondent prisoners in light of the confidential nature of interviews.

In view of the contents of the right to health, a person should have access to the health care system, to prevention, treatment and control of diseases, to medicines, to reproductive health, to the main services of health care (equally and promptly), to health-related information and education. The services of the health care system should be available, acceptable, and of good quality.

One patient who was placed in the medical unit due to a post-surgical wound becoming open had been waiting for a consultation from the surgeon for two weeks.

As a result of examination of the respective documents, it was found that, placing individuals in solitary confinement as a disciplinary punishment presents a routine practice in the facility.

In Prison N14, short-term visits are carried out across the glass partition barrier. A prisoner is deprived of any possibility of physical contact with family members. Exercising the right for family member visits is hindered by the fact that place of residence of the family is not considered during the allocation of prisoners. The prisoners who are transferred from Eastern Georgia to the facility mostly encounter the problems of exercising the right to visit. The prisoners transferred from Eastern Georgia also encounter problems in regards to meeting with their attorneys.

Ensure each prisoner with 4 square meters area space. Artificial ventilation is not available. There is a heating system installed and functioning in the cells. Prisoners have no access to a sport area.

It is noteworthy that during the visit on February 2014 by the National Preventive Mechanism, the Monitoring Group recommended the implementation of renovation works for the eradication of unsatisfactory sanitary conditions in view of the bad conditions present in the kitchen.