TBILISI, October 4 – A sexual abuse allegation that has been under investigation since December 2025 has received renewed attention in Georgia after prisoner Giorgi Davitadze raised the case in court, prompting fresh debate over what happened inside Rustavi Prison No. 6.
The prisoner’s lawyer contacted Georgia’s Public Defender on December 26, 2025, reporting that the prisoner had been subjected to ill-treatment. A Public Defender representative visited and interviewed Davitadze that same day. The office then immediately notified the Prosecutor General’s Office, which opened an investigation.
The allegation concerns events on December 20-21 at Rustavi Prison No. 6. The prisoner, Giorgi Davitadze, says he was sexually assaulted by prison staff in a special restraining room.
The case returned to public attention after Davitadze raised the allegation recently in the Tbilisi Court of Appeal, saying around 10 people were involved and that the incident should be visible on surveillance cameras.
The Special Penitentiary Service has categorically denied that any sexual or other violence took place. On October 2, it released video footage showing Davitadze being taken to and held in the restraining room on December 21, saying the material disproved his account.
The Public Defender’s Office said the footage it reviewed did not confirm the details of severe violence described by Davitadze, but stressed that the complaint must be assessed through the collection and comparison of all possible evidence. The office said it continues to monitor the prosecution investigation and has urged prosecutors to present the results publicly within a short timeframe.
Davitadze’s family and supporters have meanwhile demanded the release of the full video record from December 21, 2025, arguing that the footage published by the prison service does not show the entire episode. Civil society groups have also called for all original and continuous recordings, along with technical data confirming their authenticity and completeness, to be preserved and made available to investigators and the defense.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated on October 3 that the allegation had been shown to be false, by video and other evidence.
