TBILISI. Nov 8 (Interfax) - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili opened a new European standard penitentiary for 1,020 women in Rustavi on Saturday.
Saakashvili said he liked the new correctional institution with modern cells, a rehabilitation center, an infirmary with 55 beds and a room for convicted mothers and their children.
"We are being criticized for the increasing number of convicts. That is true, but the growing number of prisons reduces the crime rate in Georgia," he said.
Georgian human rights organizations say that Georgia has about 25,000 prisoners, a huge jump from the 2003 figure which slightly exceeded 6,000 when Eduard Shevardnadze was the head of state.