Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili pardoned more than 600 prisoners

The President of Georgia, Mikheil Kavelashvili, was elected last December from the Georgian Dream party. signed decree on amnesty of 613 prisoners.
The pardon is timed to the Epiphany, which is celebrated in Georgia according to the Julian calendar. Kavelashvili explained his decision with the principles of humanism and state expediency, but did not specify under which articles the pardoned were convicted.
Georgian presidents have often used church holidays to announce acts of pardon, but such a large number of prisoners released at the same time is unprecedented.
We will remind that in October 2024, before the parliamentary elections, the “Georgian Dream” party adopted a law on amnesty. Thanks to him, about a thousand prisoners were released, and several thousand had their prison terms shortened. As of December 1, 2024, there were almost 9,400 people in Georgian penitentiary institutions, which was 76% of their total capacity.