Patrol police replacing prison personnel in Georgia
TBILISI. Sept 19 (Interfax) - Patrol police personnel have been sent to the prison in Gldani, Georgia, to temporarily replace the prison administration, the head of the Georgian government's office, Shota Utiashvili, told the media.
"Police patrol personnel are expected to fill all prisons and take over from the prison administrations temporarily," he said.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Wednesday instructed Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili to reorganize the penitentiary system completely and start from replacing the prison administrations by patrol police.
The reorganization was ordered after videos were demonstrated, showing prison guards torturing inmates.
The revelation sent a wave of protests across Georgia. Corrections and Legal Assistance Minister Khatuna Almekhelidze resigned and Interior Minister Bacho Akhalaya may lose his post, too, according to media reports.
