ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PUBLIC DEFENDER OF GEORGIA 2013 Kitchen/dining room The physical conditions in the kitchen are not satisfactory. A major overhaul is needed. No ventilation system is operational. The existing inventory is outdated. Shower room There are 5 operational shower rooms on the first floor of the regime building no. 6. The shower rooms do not have a compartment for changing clothes. There are no shelves to put items of hygiene on. There are no partitions amongst showers. 6 prisoners can take shower at a time. The sewerage system does not ensure proper conductivity and the water gets ponded. Because of the dysfunctional ventilation system, steam accumulates heavily in the shower room. Recommendations to the Minister of Corrections: QQ Rooms for visits (the so-called investigation rooms) should be added in Institution No. 7 so that authorized persons can meet with the prisoners without obstacles; QQ Adequate natural and artificial lighting, ventilation and heating should be provided in all of the institutions; QQ All of the above-referenced institutions should be repaired with a view of making them compatible with the established standards; QQ Each institution for convicted prisoners should provide a meeting room so that trustees of the Public Defender and/or members of the Special Preventive Group can meet with prisoners at any time without being eavesdropped or subjected to surveillance. PERSONAL HYGIENE QQ In its judgment in Ananyev and Others v. Russia, the European Court of Human Rights pointed out that access to properly equipped and hygienic sanitary facilities is of paramount importance for maintaining the inmates’ sense of personal dignity.49 In Kudla v. Poland, the Court has explained in a clear-cut manner that Article 3 of the Convention obliges the States to secure the physical health of detained persons.50 Pursuant to Article 14(a.a) of the Code of Imprisonment, convicted prisoners and remand prisoners have the right to be provided with personal hygiene. Under Article 21, convicted/remand prisoners must be able to satisfy their physiological needs and maintain personal hygiene in a manner that is not infringing on their honor and dignity. It should be noted that, in terms of hygiene, conditions in the penitentiary institutions have improved but some problems persist in the Institution No. 7. In the Institution No. 7, toilets are small-sized, no ventilation system exists and lavatory bowls are not installed. Although toilets are isolated from the rest of the cell space, the doors on the toilets are short to cover the toilets in full and, because of no ventilation system, the open space above the short doors lets bad odor out of the toilettes. According to prisoners’ reports, the process of satisfying natural needs is made difficult due to insufficient floor area of the toilettes. Toilet area varies from 0,4 (0,63 x 0,69) square meters to 0,5 (0,62X0,78) square meters. According to the prisoners, some prisoners, due to their physical limitations, have to satisfy their natural needs in a humiliating manner – with the toilet door open. It should also be noted that beds in the cells are located right in front of the toilets thus making it virtually impossible to maintain some privacy. The European Court of Human 49 Ananyev and Others v. Russia, Judgment of 10 January 2012, par. 156. 50 Kudla v. Poland, par. 94. NPM Report 16