CoE Warns Post-Soviet Prison Hierarchies Persist, Citing Georgia in Regional Pattern

The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has spotlighted serious concerns regarding prison conditions and psychiatric care in Georgia in its 34th General Report covering activities during 2024. In a periodic visit to Georgia, the CPT reviewed the treatment and conditions of detention of “persons in police custody, including those detained during ongoing public demonstrations, persons held in prison and in psychiatric hospitals.” Georgia was one of nine countries of the former Soviet Union identified where a “contemporary informal prisoner hierarchy” continues to influence the prison system.

The CPT noted that this structure has historical roots in Tsarist Russia and was reinforced during the Soviet era by a policy of delegating prison management to inmates. These hierarchies are often found in “large-capacity dormitories,” which facilitate “criminal organizational structures” and “increase the risk of intimidation and violence.”

The report notes that “insufficient steps have been taken to eradicate the influence of the informal prisoner hierarchy,” and warns that “if the informal prisoner hierarchy is not directly challenged, not only are vulnerable prisoners at real risk of violence and exploitation, but the states concerned effectively permit the prisoner leaders to continue their criminal practices from inside the prison walls.”​

Additionally, the CPT emphasized systemic concerns in psychiatric institutions across several countries, including Georgia. While praising certain practices, the committee warned that “too much emphasis is placed on pharmacotherapy, with far too little invested in the psychosocial therapies required for effective modern psychiatric treatment.” The Committee further stressed the importance of providing “proper psychiatric care in the community to avoid the need to detain persons in psychiatric hospitals or the unnecessary extension of their detention.”​

The report underscores the CPT’s commitment to continued dialogue and cooperation with national authorities to ensure that recommendations are implemented effectively.

New Standard Document

Together with the 34th general report the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture has also issued a new standard providing an in-depth analysis of the problem of informal prisoner hierarchy, and specific recommendations to eradicate it. Although not focused solely on Georgia, but also on other eight countries – formerly part of the Soviet Union, the CPT includes the country in its broader analysis of a phenomenon that continues to shape prison culture and undermine decades of reforms after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Prison Castes and Their Impact

According to the report, prisoners in many of these countries are categorized into rigid castes:

• Informal leaders, occupy the top tier. They are self-proclaimed guardians of the prisoner code and often wield significant control over other inmates and internal prison affairs.
• Ordinary prisoners, make up the majority. They generally obey both official rules and the informal code but live under constant fear of demotion if they violate unwritten norms.
• Untouchables, form the lowest caste and face the most extreme marginalization. They are physically and socially segregated, forced to perform the dirtiest tasks, and frequently subjected to violence and humiliation.

The report warns that in many prisons, internal control is informally delegated to high-ranking inmates known as smotriaschij. These figures oversee dormitory life, manage inmate disputes, enforce the caste system, and even mediate with staff—often with tacit approval from prison administrations.

The CPT criticized this arrangement as a serious abdication of state responsibility and noted its corrosive effect on trust between inmates and custodial staff.

The CPT also argues that “in these circumstances, any idea of preparing for reintegration into the community while in prison is derisory, and the deterrent effect of a prison sentence is practically lost. Apart from contributing to an unsafe and even dangerous environment in prison, such a state of affairs perverts the purpose of imprisonment and the role of a prison system.”

While each caste operates within its own rules and constraints, it is the untouchables who bear the brunt of systemic abuse. The CPT noted that the conditions these individuals serve their time may constitute a violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment.

Georgia’s Legal Context

The report does not offer a detailed country-by-country breakdown but does reference Georgia in select legal contexts. In Ashlarba v. Georgia (2014), the European Court of Human Rights upheld the criminalization of membership in the thieves’ underworld (vorovskoy mir), acknowledging Georgia’s legal steps to dismantle criminal influence inside its prisons.

Despite such efforts, the CPT suggests that the persistence of caste-based systems—enabled by outdated infrastructure, under-trained staff, and insufficient oversight—continues to affect countries including Georgia.

In its on-site visits, the Committee found that some prison authorities still ask new arrivals which caste they belong to, and accommodate them accordingly. Such practices, while unofficial, help sustain the informal hierarchy.

Recommendations for Reform

The Committee urged states to adopt national strategies with clear timelines to dismantle informal prisoner hierarchies and build systems rooted in legality and respect for human dignity.

“In the Committee’s view, such an octopoid phenomenon, which has permeated almost all areas of the prison systems affected for decades, can only be overcome by a comprehensive approach, preferably in the form of a national strategy focused on developing a modern prison system in line with the Council of Europe standards and values,” reads the report.

To address the issue, the CPT issued a series of urgent and long-term recommendations to all nine countries affected by the informal hierarchy system, including modernizing infrastructure; increasing and training staff; implementing risk-based classification through standardized assessments upon entry into prison; providing protective accommodation and regime for vulnerable groups, such as LGBTQI+ individuals, eliminating informal power structures; strengthening whistleblower protection and others.

Also Read:

• 06/06/2024 – CoE Report: Georgia Again Ranks Second in Europe’s Prison Population
• 06/07/2023 – Georgia Ranks Second in Europe’s Prison Population, CoE Reports
• 09/04/2021 – Georgia in CoE Annual Penal Statistics Report
  

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