President pardons 155 inmates
By Messenger Staff
Thursday, March 3
President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili has pardoned 155 prisoners; 105 of them will immediately leave their cells today, while the remaining 50 will see decreases in their prison terms.
The head of the President’s Pardon Commission Zviad Koridze said on March 2 that out of the 105 inmates totally freed from their sentences, eight were women.
Koridze said the Pardon Commission discussed 1,178 cases and appealed to the President to pardon people sentenced for both light and heavy crimes, excluding those who were arrested for premeditated murder.
Only the President is authorized to pardon people in Georgia.
The President’s Pardon Commission is composed of ten people, including Koridze.
The Commission members are mainly lawyers from the civil sector, public figures, the Public Defender and a spiritual representative from the Patriarchate.
They are tasked with discussing the cases sent to the Commission by certain inmates or their families and write down a list of those prisoners who they believe deserve to be pardoned.
The President makes the final decision on whether to pardon the people or not.
