The steps made towards the implementation of the public health-care standards in the system of the penitentiary health-care system are welcome. In particular, the standards of medical service have been approved; the procedure for processing statistical data, the terms of processing and submitting of statistical data in the penitentiary system have been approved. It should be negatively assessed that there have been no steps made towards elaboration of activities and their timetable for the transfer of the penitentiary health-care to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Affairs of Georgia. Mental health-care remains one of the challenges of the penitentiary health-care. Provision of adequate mental care remains problematic. In order to identify persons with mental ailments and provide them with adequate psychiatric assistance, it is necessary to enhance cooperation with psychologists and social workers, apart from improving the accessibility of a psychiatrist. The introduction of suicide prevention programme in all establishments of the Penitentiary Department should be positively assessed. It is, however, important, to assess the effectiveness of the suicide programme in order to identify the programme’s shortcomings and make the necessary amendments for addressing them. In 2016, the majority of the prisoners placed in penitentiary establishments expressed their indignation concerning the quantity, quality and taste of the food given to them. The shops of the penitentiary establishments do not have the list of the products they offer in print to facilitate making choices. Besides, the prices in the shops of penitentiary establishments are higher by 10-20% than outside. It is problematic that a prisoner is allowed to receive maximum five kg of fruit in a single parcel, which is not enough. Juvenile convicts are mostly placed in rehabilitation establishment no. 11 for the underage. Juvenile remand are placed in penitentiary establishments nos. 2 and 8. In a number of cases, for security reasons, a juvenile is transferred from a rehabilitation establishment to penitentiary establishments nos. 2 or 8. The Public Defender emphasises that juvenile offenders should serve in a rehabilitation establishment and they should not be transferred to a closed-type prison facility for indefinite term and without reasoning. This significantly compromises rehabilitation and runs counter to the best interest of juvenile convicts. Female prisoners are placed in establishment no. 5 and also in establishment no. 2. The Public Defender welcomes the draft amendments to the Imprisonment Code and other relevant normative acts that have been prepared by the Ministry of Corrections allowing a mother, with the consent of the Director of the Penitentiary Department, to leave a penitentiary establishment on days off (weekends) in the period of a year after her child left the establishment. As mentioned, female prisoners are placed in establishment no. 5 and also in establishment no. 2. In the latter establishment, similar facilities and services tailored to the women’s needs, available in establishment no. 5, are absent. The Public Defender positively assesses the improvement of transportation for female convicts and repair works in establishment no. 5. However, there is still a problem con- 20 HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN CLOSED INSTITUTIONS