protected in custody and to this end, qualified examinations and provision of the relevant medication should be provided.
The European Court of Human Rights, in the case against Bulgaria has found the violation of the right to life since the delayed medical treatment has become a decisive cause
of death.185 In the case Keenan v. UK the European Court of Human Rights discussed the
quality of treatment the applicant underwent in custody and held that the provided
medical treatment, which meant the daily attention for the doctor and receiving the
medicines, also, the visual supervision of the prisoner, was not adequate and violated
Article 3 of the European Convention.186
On 17 April 2015, the Public Defender addressed the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia with
the recommendation N04-19/2995 regarding the alleged crime committed by the medical personnel of the penitentiary establishment N17 and O. Gudushauri National Medical Centre, since a number of questions are inquired by the circumstance that despite
the record of the doctor on duty of the penitentiary establishment N14 made on 30
December 2014 (the convict was suffering from sepsis), after 9 months (till death) of
having a purulent wound (despite the permanent treatment) from the heart surgery
conducted on 26 July 2014 in the Kutaisi Intervention Medical Centre, the convict was
diagnosed with sepsis in O. Gudushauri National Medical Centre on 6 April 2015, a few
days before death.
On 21 May 2015, in response to the letter N13/32702 received from the Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia on 21 May 2015, investigation has started in the first unit of
the Didube-Chughureti Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the criminal case
N002200515002, on the death of the former convict M.D. in the O. Gudushauri National
Medical Centre, the crime foreseen by Article 116 Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Georgia.
In the Parliamentary report 2014 the increase of the suicide cases was underlined (7
cases of suicide were revealed). Positively should be assessed the sharp decrease of suicide rate. In 2015, only 2 cases of suicide were revealed in the penitentiary system. It is
noteworthy that the penitentiary establishments have a suicide prevention programme,
in which 56 convicts, among them 50 men, 4 women and 2 juveniles have been involved
in 2015. However, the suicide prevention programme does not cover all establishments
and no special normative framework for its functioning is at palce.
Brief information about each case of suicide is provided below:
185 The case Anguelova v. Bulgaria, application no. 38361/97, 13 June 2002, paras. 125-130.
186 Keenan v. UK, Application no.27229, paras. 179-186.
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM (NPM), 2015
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