Month: October 2026

Convicted inmate Giorgi Davitadze told the appeals court that he was sexually assaulted at the hands of prison guards in a de-escalation cell and later attempted suicide. Georgia’s Special Penitentiary Service “categorically” denies the allegations and published footage to support the claim, while the Public Defender said it found “no evidence” of ill-treatment in video recordings.

Davitadze, 36, the son of Avtandil Davitadze, a former Georgian Dream member of the Tbilisi City Council, made the allegations during an October 2 hearing at the Tbilisi Court of Appeals. Davitadze is serving a sentence in connection with the wounding of Shalva Peradze, an employee of the Interior Ministry.

An audio recording of the hearing was published by opposition-leaning TV Pirveli. In the recording, Davitadze can be heard telling the court that he was sexually assaulted by employees of Penitentiary Establishment No. 6.

“They took me down to the de-escalation [room] and raped me — with a finger, with a hand. I am saying this here, in the presence of my family,” Davitadze is heard saying in the recording, noting that the video footage shows the guard making “movement near the buttocks.”

He notes that up to 10 prison guards took part in the abuse and did it under the cameras, yet “so that it cannot be seen” in the footage, “but they still cannot conceal it completely.”

Davitadze is also heard saying that the cameras do not show the voice where the guards allegedly use humiliating phrases against him, and that the abuse intensified after he requested forensic examinations. He also criticized the Public Defender’s Office’s response to his allegations, claiming that its representative had reviewed footage related to his case but failed to adequately respond to his complaints.

“I attempted suicide because imagine having to look again every day at the same guards who raped you,” Davitadze said.

Penitentiary Service Denies Allegations, Publishes Footage

Following Davitadze’s allegations in court, Georgia’s Special Penitentiary Service released video footage from December 21, 2025, when the alleged abuse took place, showing scenes in the de-escalation cell, while again rejecting his allegation of sexual assault as “a complete lie.”

The footage, which contains no audio, shows several prison employees accompanying the inmate inside the room, with the inmate appearing agitated, with his face blurred and his hands making aggressive gestures. Guards are then seen restraining Davitadze and moving him onto a bed before conducting what the Penitentiary Service described as a mandatory inspection, including with what appears to be a detection device.

The footage shows episodes where guards position themselves so that they end up covering part of the inmate’s body, making it impossible to see from the footage the exact nature of procedures they carry out on him. At least one of the guards restraining and inspecting the inmate is seen wearing what appears to be rubber gloves.

The Service said Davitadze had refused to undergo an inspection required when a prisoner is placed in a de-escalation cell and had begun verbally insulting prison employees.

“The footage also shows that only after this, in order to perform their assigned duties, employees of the establishment forcibly conducted an inspection of the convicted prisoner, which was carried out using an electronic detector on his body,” the Service said.

The agency said it had previously refrained from publishing the footage because an investigation into the case was underway.

The video footage came after the Service earlier on October 2 “categorically” denied Davitadze’s allegations, calling them “a complete lie” and “a continuation of the Davitadze family’s campaign to discredit the penitentiary system.”

The Special Penitentiary Service said that “any form of violence or treatment degrading human dignity by any employee of the agency is unacceptable and, should such an incident occur, it would be met with an appropriate legal response.”

The Penitentiary Service has denied allegations of abuse against Davitadze before as well, including in a September 21 statement in which the agency said that Davitadze “systematically violates the penitentiary establishment’s security requirements and internal regulations, creates confrontational situations and verbally abuses prison staff.”

“As a result, he has repeatedly been subjected to disciplinary sanctions during his imprisonment,” the September 21 statement said.

The Service said Davitadze was placed in the prison’s de-escalation cell on December 21, 2025, for violating prison rules. It said Davitadze’s family alleged that he was subjected to degrading treatment during that period, an allegation the agency described as “completely false.”

Family Says Footage Not Complete

Responding to the footage released by the Penitentiary Service, Irma Davitadze, the inmate’s mother, said the footage is incomplete and shows only part of what happened.

“Many parts are missing — there are five files: how they escort Giorgi [into the room], how they pressure him while he is bent over, how they put him on the bed by bending him, and how ten men jump on top of him,” she told the media. “The footage shows only one perspective. Of course, they did not release what did not suit them, [parts that] clearly show what the [guard] is doing with the movement of his hand.”

Public Defender Says Footage Showed No Evidence of Ill-Treatment

Georgia’s Public Defender’s Office had not issued a formal statement on Davitadze’s latest allegations as of October 2. Public Defender Levan Ioseliani, however, told TV Pirveli that his office had examined the matter and reviewed video recordings.

“We examined this matter in detail. Among other things, we requested that the materials be archived and reviewed the video recordings,” Ioseliani said. “We found no evidence depicting any form of physical violence or ill-treatment.”

Ioseliani said Davitadze had also reported verbal abuse and that his office referred that allegation to prosecutors.

“He also reported verbal abuse. In connection with this, we referred the matter to the Prosecutor’s Office, and the Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation,” Ioseliani said.

Also Read:

• 20/05/2026 – Georgia Has Fourth-Highest Prison Population Rate in Council of Europe’s 2025 Report
• 18/02/2026 – CoE Committee for Prevention of Torture Publishes Report on Georgia
• 05/05/2025 – Man Dies in Hospital After Alleged Abuse in Prison
• 24/04/2025 – CoE Warns Post-Soviet Prison Hierarchies Persist, Citing Georgia in Regional Pattern