Georgia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has charged three prisoners with physically assaulting penitentiary staff in incidents at Rustavi Prison No 6, amid protests in solidarity with prisoner Giorgi Davitadze.
The Prosecutor General’s Office announced the charges on Monday, saying the incidents took place on 2 and 4 October at Rustavi Prison No 6.
‘The Ministry of Justice’s General Inspectorate, which investigated the incidents, found that on 2 October, a prisoner identified as B. Ch., who is serving a sentence for a particularly serious crime, physically assaulted the prison director’s deputy during a cell inspection.
On 4 October, two other prisoners, identified only as J. J. and V. T., allegedly attacked and physically assaulted the chief inspector of the prison’s legal regime department as they returned from the exercise area’, the statement reads.
The Prosecutor’s Office said B. Ch. had previously used violence against a penitentiary employee. He has been charged with repeatedly assaulting a prison employee while serving a sentence for a particularly serious crime. J. J. and V. T. have been charged with assaulting a prison employee while serving sentences for serious or particularly serious crimes.
The charges carry a prison sentence of up to 12 years. The Prosecutor’s Office said it would ask the court to schedule a preliminary hearing.
The incidents took place amid protests by prisoners in solidarity with Davitadze, who alleged that prison guards had raped him in a de-escalation room at Rustavi Prison No 6.
While the investigation started in December 2025, Davitadze’s allegations became public on 2 October, when he raised them at the Tbilisi Court of Appeals. Ahead of the investigation being officially closed, the Special Penitentiary Service denied the allegations and released video footage of the incident, which it said showed no violence. Public Defender Levan Ioseliani also said his office had found no evidence of physical violence in the footage.
The Prosecutor General’s Office announced that it had ended its investigation into the alleged sexual assault on Monday, concluding that no violence or criminal act had taken place against Davitadze. The agency said its investigation included interviews with dozens of witnesses, analysis of hours of video footage, and several expert examinations.
Davitadze’s family disputed the findings. His parents accused Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of influencing the investigation’s outcome, while his lawyer, Salome Januashvili, said the decision would be appealed to the European Court of Human Rights after all domestic legal procedures had been exhausted.
The allegations sparked public outcry and expressions of solidarity from other prisoners. Several detainees who protested have claimed that they were physically and verbally abused in response.