TBILISI, October 7 – Jailed opposition politician Aleko Elisashvili says prisoners at Rustavi Prison staged a vigorous protest over the treatment of inmate Giorgi Davitadze, with windows smashed and several prisoners injuring themselves.
Elisashvili, who is himself in prison, said Wednesday that unrest inside the facility lasted for several hours and was triggered by anger over Davitadze’s alleged abuse. He claimed the prison administration began removing inmates during the disturbance and said it was unclear how they were treated while being moved.
He also alleged that prisoners were prevented that night from calling the Public Defender’s hotline. Elisashvili said tensions remained high and called on authorities to disclose where transferred prisoners had been taken, what condition they were in and whether they were receiving appropriate assistance.
Elisashvili called for the head of the Penitentiary Department, the director of Prison No. 6 and guards he said were involved in the incident to leave their posts, and demanded a full investigation.
Davitadze is serving a 17½-year sentence for attempted murder following a shooting involving an off-duty police officer. It was during a hearing last week in his appeals case that the abuse allegation resurfaced. He said prison guards had sexually assaulted him inside a ‘de-escalation room’ at Rustavi Prison No. 6, which is a room used to restrain a prisoner who is a danger to himself and the surroundings. He said several people were involved and claimed the incident had been captured by surveillance cameras. Footage was released, but its visuals inconclusive.
This raised the alarm, as even though the case was already under investigation and had been studied by the Public Defender shortly after it allegedly occurred, critics doubted the official answers and demanded an independent investigation.
The Special Penitentiary Service has rejected the allegation, calling it disinformation and saying Davitadze was subjected to neither sexual nor any other form of violence.
Several days after Davitadze made his allegation public, the prison service said he called a staff member and swallowed a small unidentified object in front of the employee and a surveillance camera. The agency said Davitadze was then offered transfer to the civilian Vivamed clinic for medical monitoring, but refused.
