Roland Giligashvili formally submitted his resignation to President Eduard Shevardnadze on 15 September, but it is not clear whether Shevardnadze has accepted it. In his letter, Giligashvili explained his resignation in terms of the current crime situation and moral climate in Georgia, adding that Shevardnadze ignored his repeated pleas to take action to remedy the situation. In his regular Monday radio interview, Shevardnadze on 15 September again said that the transfer of responsibility for the Georgian prison system from the Interior Ministry to the Justice Ministry was premature. A lack of trained guards at prisons was the primary reason for the series of high-profile jailbreaks, culminating in the escape late on 10 September of 129 prisoners from the Rustavi penitentiary. Seven of those escapees have been apprehended in Azerbaijan, raising the number recaptured to 72. (Caucasus Press)