Georgia Frees Nearly 200 'Political Prisoners' Under Amnesty

Some 190 prisoners have been released from custody in Georgia as part of an amnesty that came into effect on January 13.

Those released were recognized as political prisoners by parliament during sessions late last year.

In all, some 3,000 prisoners are expected to be released under the amnesty in the coming weeks.

All those released on January 13 were convicted of participating in opposition political actions between 2005 and 2011.

President Mikheil Saakashvili on December 27 vetoed the portion of the amnesty relating to "political prisoners," but parliament overrode that veto the next day.

On January 11, the deadline for the president to sign the bill expired, so it was signed by parliament speaker Davit Usupashvili instead.