Penitentiary Service: We categorically deny convicted prisoner Giorgi Davidadze’s allegations of sexual abuse – we are ready to release video footage

The Special Penitentiary Service has responded to media reports that, according to testimony given by convicted prisoner Giorgi Davidadze in court, he was sexually assaulted by prison administration staff.

The Penitentiary Service describes the allegation as disinformation and says that Davidadze was subjected to “not only no sexual violence, but no form of violence whatsoever.”

“The Special Penitentiary Service categorically denies the disinformation spread by convicted prisoner Giorgi Davidadze, alleging that he was subjected to sexual violence by employees of the administration of Penitentiary Institution No. 6.

“This is a complete lie and a continuation of the campaign launched by the Davidadze family to discredit the penitentiary system.

“We also note that, given the high public interest, we are ready, in accordance with the procedure established by law, to make the relevant video footage public, so that the public itself can see the footage showing the placement of convicted prisoner Davidadze in the de-escalation room and the period he spent there.

“The Special Penitentiary Service states that any form of violence or degrading treatment by any employee of the agency is unacceptable, and if such an incident occurs, it will receive an appropriate legal response. However, as stated in the statement issued several days ago regarding Davidadze, the relevant video footage was reviewed both by the investigation and by a representative of the Public Defender, and no signs of a crime were identified.

“There was no violence of any kind against Davidadze, let alone sexual violence,” the statement said.