PROPOSALS TO THE PARLIAMENT OF GEORGIA: • To amend the Imprisonment Code to the effect of inserting express reference to the confidentiality of the meetings of the Public Defender of Georgia/members of the Special Preventive Group with remand/convicted persons as well as prohibition of any kind of wiretapping or surveillance; and • To amend the Imprisonment Code to the effect of inserting the prohibition of surveillance of toilets in cells. 3.3.2.3. Separation of Prisoners for Security Reasons Article 57.1.b) of the Code of Imprisonment of Georgia provides for the grounds of separation of prisoners.71 The grounds and procedure for the application of this measure are governed by the respective orders issued by the Minister of Corrections approving the statutes of penitentiary establishments. These statutes provide for the similar procedure for all penitentiary establishments.72 The statutes of high risk prison facilities and other establishments provide for different terms for the extension of the duration of separation. In particular, in accordance with the statutes of high risk prison facilities, if needs be, separation of a prisoner from other prisoners may be extended with the decision of the director of an establishment for a reasonable term, until the danger that warranted the isolation does not exist. In accordance with the statutes of other penitentiary establishments, if needed, the term of separation of a convict from other convicted persons may be extended based on the decision of the director of a penitentiary establishment for another thirty days. If these security measures prove to be ineffective, the director of a penitentiary establishment motions before the Director of the Penitentiary Department on transferring a convict or person endangering the former to another prison facility. If there are relevant grounds for this measure, it is not necessary to exhaust the initial term for filing the motion. In the Parliamentary Report of 2015, the Public Defender recommended to the Minister of Corrections to ensure the amendment of the penitentiary establishments’ statutes to the effect of determining the maximum term for separation. This recommendation, however, has not been fulfilled. The inspections conducted by the Special Preventive Group in the reporting period reviewed that the separation of inmates is widely practiced in penitentiary establishments. 71 72 48 To avoid self-injury, or damage to other persons and property, to prevent crimes and other offences in the penitentiary institution, to prevent the non-compliance by an remand/convicted person of a lawful demand of an employee of the Special Penitentiary Service, to repel attacks, to suppress collective disobedience and/or mass unrest, the following security measures may be applied, on the basis of a justified decision, to remand/convicted persons: a) isolation from other remand/convicted persons. In particular, the decision about placing a convicted person separately from other convicts for a reasonable time is made by the director of a penitentiary establishment following the request of a convict or on the director’s own motion if the statutory grounds are met. In the absence of the director of a penitentiary establishment, an official in charge orders separation of a convict from other convicts for a maximum of 24 hours. The Director decides on the separation of a convict from other convicts in the form of an Order. HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN CLOSED INSTITUTIONS