Photo: Mikheil Kavelashvili/Facebook.
Georgian Dream-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili pardoned 59 inmates on the occasion of Orthodox Saint Nino Day on January 27, with his administration citing “the principle of humanism” and “state interests” in exercising his constitutional discretion.
57 convicted prisoners were pardoned, while the convictions of two others were expunged, according to the presidential administration. The names of those pardoned are not released, as is customary. No protest-related prisoners were reported to be among those pardoned.
On January 19, Kavelashvili pardoned 159 inmates on the occasion of Epiphany. The decision came amid hopes that those imprisoned in connection with pro-European and anti-government protests would be among those released, as family members and journalists waited day and night outside prisons in Tbilisi and Rustavi. The pardons, however, did not include any protest-related prisoners.
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