A bill on amnesty passed its third reading and was adopted by the parliament on 12 April. It comes into force on 2 May.

To fairly compensate for the restrictions imposed on inmates by the state as part of Covid-19 containment measures, persons convicted of a number of crimes specified in the Criminal Code will be granted, on the basis of amnesty, commutation of sentence.

• A prison term of inmates held in penitentiary institutions during the period between 5 March 2020 and 30 August 2021 will be reduced by 75 days.
• A prison term of inmates sentenced to under two years in jail, who were held in penitentiary institutions during the same period, will be reduced by 45 days.
• A prison term of female, minor and over-70 inmates held in penitentiary institutions during the same period, will be reduced by 105 days.

Persons who committed any of the crimes envisaged in the Criminal Code before 1 January 2004 (amnesty applies to preparation or attempt of those crimes) will be exempt from criminal liability and sentence (except for a sentence of imprisonment for life).[1]

The amnesty shall not apply to a crime committed by any one of the persons on the Otkhozoria-Tatunashvili List.

Furthermore, the amnesty shall not apply to the following crimes (as well as to the preparation and attempt of the crimes):

• Article 108 – Intentional killing
• Article 109 - Intentional killing under aggravating circumstances
• Article 37 – Rape
• Article 138 - Another action of a sexual nature
• Article 139 - Coercion into penetration of a sexual nature into the body of a person, or into another action of a sexual nature
• Article 140 – Penetration of a sexual nature into the body of a person below 16 years of age
• Article 141 - Lewd act
• Article 142 - Violation of human equality
• Article 142¹ – Racial discrimination
• Article 142² - Restriction of rights of persons with disabilities
• Article 143 - Unlawful imprisonment
• Article 143¹ – Human trafficking
• Article 143² – Child trafficking
• Article 143³ – Abuse of services of a victim of (a person affected by) human trafficking
• Article 144 – Taking a hostage
• Article 144¹ – Torture
• Article 144² – Threat of torture
• Article 144³ - Humiliating or inhuman treatment
• Article 164 - Breach of the secrecy of the ballot, miscounting of votes or incorrect summing up of vote returns
• Article 179 – Aggravated robbery
• Article 183 - Taking of property or documents holding particular historical, cultural, scientific or national value for their unlawful appropriation
• Article 223 - Creation or management of illegal formations, or joining and participation in such formations, and/or implementation of other activities in favor of illegal formations
• Article 223¹ – Membership of the ‘criminal underworld’; ‘being a thief in law’
• Article 223² - Participation in an ‘underworld meeting’
• Article 223³ - Support of the ‘criminal underworld’ activities
• Article 223⁴ - Referral to a member of the ‘criminal underworld’/a ‘thief in law’ or gaining of a material benefit or material superiority as a result of such referral
• Article 224 – Banditry
• Article 236 - Illegal purchase, storage, carrying, manufacturing, transportation, forwarding or sale of firearms (other than hunting smooth-bore firearms (shotguns)), ammunition, explosives or explosive devices
• Article 237 – Illegal taking of arms, ammunition, explosive substances or equipment for their appropriation or extortion
• Article 238 – Negligent storage of firearms (including hunting smooth-bore firearms (shotguns))
• Article 238¹ – Carrying melee weapons
• Article 239 – Hooliganism
• Article 253 – Engagement in prostitution
• Article 255 – Illegal making or sale of a pornographic work or other items
• Article 255¹ – Engagement of minors in illegal production and sale of pornographic works or other similar items
• Article 255² – Offering a meeting of a sexual character to a minor
• Article 280 – Violation of international flight rules
• Article 353 – Resistance, threat or violence against a protector of public order or other representative of the authorities
• Article 378 – Interference with or disorganization of the activities of a penitentiary institution
• Article 378¹ – Passing of a prohibited item to an accused/convicted person in a penitentiary institution or other placement, during his/her removal/transfer or extradition, and to a person placed in a temporary holding facility or a disciplinary cell
• Article 378² – Purchase, storage, carrying, consumption and/or use of a prohibited item by an accused/convicted person in a penitentiary institution or other placement, during his/her removal/transfer or extradition, and by a person placed in a temporary holding facility or a disciplinary cell
• Article 379 – Escape of an accused/convicted person from the place of arrest, penitentiary institution or other placement, during his/her removal/transfer or extradition
• Article 404 – Planning, preparation, commencement or execution of an act of aggression
• Article 405 – Calling for planning, preparation, commencement or execution of an act of aggression
• Article 406 – Manufacturing, purchase, storage, selling, carrying, transit or transfer of weapons of mass destruction
• Article 407 – Genocide
• Article 408 – Crime against Humanity
• Article 409 – Ecocide
• Article 410 – Participation of mercenaries in armed conflicts or military actions
• Article 411 – Intentional breach of the provisions of the international humanitarian law during armed conflicts
• Article 412 – Intentional breach of provisions of the international humanitarian law during armed conflicts between states or within a state, by endangering health or by mutilation
• Article 413 – Other violations of the provisions of the international humanitarian law
• Articles 308 – 322 - Crime against constitutional structure and security principles of Georgia
• Articles 323-331² – Terrorism