New pardon is expected in Georgia. This time the authorities suggest releasing incarcerated drug users with a reservation that drug dealers are not subject to mercy. GeorgiaTimes correspondent asked the opinion of Elene Tevdoradze, a rights defender, on the president's initiative.

In the near future the parliament of Georgia will examine a draft law "On amnesty of drug users" proposed by the president, Speaker David Bakradze said at the parliamentary bureau session. The draft law is supposed to be considered by the parliament in first reading on Friday, November 6 to be ratified next week.

Under the applicable legislation the use of drugs is punished by max 10 years' imprisonment. As News Georgia reports the draft law stipulates reduction in prison term twofold for this kind of convicts.

According to David Bakradze the keynote of the coming pardon is that "delinquent drug addicts must be brought back to the society that had a lot of problems because of them". Bakradze emphasized it could be a step toward a new policy on formation of a new attitude to drug users, Caucasian Knot reports.

At first sight Saakashvili's initiative looks quite useful. The opposition and rights defenders constantly criticize the authorities of overloaded prisons and their condition which is far from European standards in spite of the penitentiary reforms. 

Quite recently Georgia's new ombudsman Georgy Tugushi highlighted in his report that there is acute shortage of beds in prisons, and the convicts have to sleep in turns. There are serious problems with food and observance of personal hygiene rules.

Looks like Mikheil Nikolayevich who took pains to restore relative calm in the country found a way to set prisons in order. Will the criticism of penitentiary system subside? It's hard to say.

At least the latest pardon decreed by Saakashvili in September forced a new turn of domestic crisis.

At first the opposition and parliamentarians were crossing swords because of Rati Rekhviashvili, an amnestee, who tried to commit another crime and offered resistance at the time of detention. As a result two policemen were taken to hospital and their colleague died of wounds.

The opposition even organized a protest action, resentful at Saakashvili's statement that the pardon policy had to be made more stringent, and the police should be entitled to use arms. He also remarked that the policeman was killed by one of those whom the opposition so fiercely defended during their rallies.

Hardly had this scandal died away when a new one started.

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