On June 30, 2022, the Tbilisi City Court found that several state agencies of Georgia discriminated against a former prisoner, who is a vegan, in the case litigated by GYLA with USAID/PROLoG’s support. The defendants - the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, the Health, Labour and Social Affairs of Georgia and the Special Penitentiary Service - were ordered to pay 5,000 GEL for moral damages in favor of the plaintiff.

By litigating the case, GYLA was seeking to protect the rights of a former prisoner whom the penitentiary refused to provide with vegan food, despite his refusal and inability to consume non-vegan meals. In 2019, the plaintiff was placed in the Penitentiary Facility N8. He notified the administration about his need for vegan food, but the facility did not have a menu suitable for vegans and refused to accommodate the request. Therefore, the prisoner was forced to consume only a small portion of the food offered by the administration that was compatible with his adherence to veganism. Consequently, he was not getting enough nutrients. Based on this, the plaintiff argued that during his entire time in the penitentiary, he was a victim of discrimination based on his inability to eat non-vegan food and his moral standpoint which is expressed by his strict adherence to veganism.

This case not only restores the violated rights of the plaintiff, but it will also become the basis for revising food regulations at penitentiary institutions. This is the first known decision in which the court found discrimination on the basis of veganism.