The Special Penitentiary Service of Georgia has explained the reasons for refusing to permit the delivery of Lasha Bugadze’s novel “The Observer” into a prison. Baia Pataraia, head of the human rights organization Sapari, published the official response to an inquiry filed by lawyer Giorgi Chkheidze.
The letter, signed by the head of the administrative department Nika Abramishvili, states that “the title of Bugadze’s novel ‘The Observer’ creates ambiguity regarding the content of the work and does not allow for an unambiguous interpretation.”
It also notes that “literature of unclear content, which could potentially threaten the safety of an accused/convicted person and the normal functioning of the facility, cannot be transferred to a penitentiary institution, regardless of who its author is.”
Earlier, it was reported that Women’s Penitentiary Institution No. 5 in the city of Rustavi refused to hand over the novel “The Observer” to Nana Sander, who was convicted in the “October 4 case” and is serving a seven-year prison sentence. According to PEN Georgia, an organization uniting more than 70 writers, the incident constitutes an alarming act of censorship.
