for prisoners, especially since some prisoners do not receive assistance from family members. Due to the geographical distance and high postal rates, foreign prisoners very rarely send/receive letters and are deprived of the opportunity to receive parcels. In view of all the abovementioned, the Public Defender reiterates the need to regulate video meetings in the legislation in such a way that making a video call will no longer require a member of a prisoner's family to visit to any territorial unit of the National Agency for Non-custodial Sentence and Probation.229 Living in isolation from the outside world as well as from other inmates of the establishment for years, the problems caused by the language barrier and the generally depressing environment in penitentiary facilities cause extremely severe stress and helplessness in foreign prisoners. Their emotional state of mind is so severe that many of them tremble and cry while talking to members of a special preventive group. When interviewed by members of a special preventive group, foreign prisoners often mention that they miss talking to people and that it is a rare occasion for them to be able to talk to another person normally and share emotions. Therefore, it is important that effective measures are taken in the penitentiary system to alleviate the difficult living conditions of foreign prisoners. Living in isolation from the outside world as well as from other inmates of the establishment for years, the problems caused by the language barrier and the generally depressing environment in penitentiary institutions cause extremely severe stress and helplessness in foreign prisoners. Foreign prisoners do not feel safe, say they feel oppressed by Georgian prisoners, do not feel supported by the administration, and feel that they have to serve their sentences in discriminatory conditions. For safety reasons, they often have to change the cell as well, which taken together may qualify as ill-treatment. 2.8.3. Convicts sentenced to life imprisonment Deprivation of liberty without the hope of regaining it again is incompatible with human dignity and is contrary to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights230. Life imprisonment is a sentence of indefinite duration imposed by a court directly for the commission of a crime and requires imprisonment of the offender until the end of his or her natural life or release, depending on the mechanisms of release and the rules on reduction of punishment in the country.231 Georgian legislation provides for the revision,232 amnesty233 and pardon234 by the President of persons sentenced to life imprisonment. The minimum period that a convict must spend in a facility prior to the conditional release varies from country to country. In Austria, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, life prisoners can be granted early Imprisonment Code, Article 171 (3). and others v. the United Kingdom, available at the following address: https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre?i=001-122664 [Last visited: 10.01.21]. 231 Ibid. 232 Criminal Code, Article 721 and Article 73 (7). 233 Ibid. Article 77. 234 Ibid. Article 78. 229 230Vinter 70