The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) has submitted a report to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture regarding the increase in the prison population.

According to GYLA, Georgia currently has one of the highest prison population rates per capita in Europe. According to a report published by the Council of Europe in 2026, Georgia had approximately 232 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants as of January 2025. Within the Council of Europe, only Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Moldova had higher rates than Georgia.

“The UN Special Rapporteur on torture is preparing a technical guide on reducing and preventing overcrowding in prisons and is gathering information for its development, including from civil society organizations.

“To contribute to the preparation of this guide, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association shared a document with the Special Rapporteur on September 28, 2026, reviewing challenges related to the high prison population in Georgia.

“The document examines statistics on the prison population, highlights Georgia’s particularly high rate of imprisonment in Europe, the increase in the number of prisoners, and localized overcrowding in certain penitentiary institutions.

“It also reviews challenges related to parole and the replacement of the unserved portion of sentences, including the reduced use of these measures and inconsistencies in decision-making. The document also addresses the widespread use of pretrial detention, the inadequate use of alternatives to imprisonment, and problems associated with a criminal justice policy focused on punishment.

“The document further points to the need to strengthen prevention, rehabilitation and social support mechanisms and examines the increase in the prison population in the broader context of the deterioration of the human rights situation. Based on these issues, the document presents a number of recommendations,” GYLA said in a statement.