conversations as a disciplinary sanction was used 124 times, from January to November 2020 - totally 467 times.153 The Public Defender reiterates that it is inadmissible to restrict the right of contact with the outside world in the form of a disciplinary sanction,154 which is also indicated in the report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture following its visit to Georgia in 2018.155 During a pandemic, it is especially important for a prisoner to have telephone communication with family members, especially since there may be a number of inaccurate reports in the media about the spread of viral infection in penitentiaries, causing anxiety and stress among prisoners' family members. On the other hand, the health of family members may be a cause of concern for prisoners. The opportunity of contact with the outside world and the most important guarantee of protection against ill-treatment is the possibility of confidential filing of a complaint, both inside and outside the penitentiary system.156 Complaint boxes were placed in all penitentiary facilities visited in 2020,157 however, it still falls into the area of video surveillance, which allows the author of a confidential complaint to be identified. In order to exercise the right to appeal, it is important to provide prisoners with paper, confidential complaint envelopes and pens. Interviews with inmates at the facilities N8 and N6 show that the administration does not provide them with the necessary materials and prevents them from sending complaints. In case prisoners are able to write a complaint and put it in a box or hand it over to an employee of the establishment to send them,158 Prisoners often do not know whether their correspondence has reached the addressee. Prisoners suspect that their letters/complaints are blocked as unwanted content. Prisoners note that correspondence sent to the Public Defender is also being blocked.159 The Public Defender calls on the relevant services of the Ministry of Justice to investigate the above-mentioned problems and to respond to the complaints of the prisoners ensure confidential and unhindered sending. Criminal Statistics Reports of the National Statistics Office of Georgia by months. Available at: https://bit.ly/39CVbb4, [Last listed: 18.01.2021]. 154 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), dynamic Safety Guide, New York, 2015, p. 22, available at the following address: https://bit.ly/3bVGGR6 [Last visited: 20.01.2021]. 155 Report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture on the visit to Georgia (CPT/Inf (2019) 16), para. 100, September 10-21, 2018, available in English at: https://rm.coe.int/1680945eca [Last visited: 20.01.21]. 156 European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, Standards, para. 54. Available at the following address: https://rm.coe.int/16806ce96b [Last visited: 18.01.2021]. 157A visit to the N10 Penitentiary on June 26, 2020 revealed that after March 16, the establishment's complaint boxes had not been opened by the administration. 158 After the introduction of extraordinary conditions, prisoners hand over letters and complaints to the security or regime staff of the institution instead of the social worker. 159 In the period July-August 2020, the Public Defender's hotline received 7 notifications from the Establishment N6 about the blocking of letters sent by prisoners to the Public Defender's Office and other agencies. The Public Defender's Office found after verification that the prisoners' complaints were not received by the Public Defender's Office. 153 58