Giorgi Pataridze Resigns as Head of Special Penitentiary Service

Giorgi Pataridze, Director General of the Special Penitentiary Service, has stepped down. The agency's press service confirmed the information.

Today the Prosecutor's Office, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Justice, applied for the powers of the Special Penitentiary Service's Director General to be suspended. The case concerns the alleged beating of prisoner Davit Feikrishvili. Prosecutors say Pataridze's culpability has not yet been established within the framework of the investigation.

According to the agency, the criminal case was transferred from the Ministry of Justice's General Inspection to the investigative department of the General Prosecutor's Office for investigation. The statement reads: "All necessary investigative and procedural measures are being carried out intensively in the criminal case."

Davit Feikrishvili was taken to the Vivamedi clinic on October 20. A day earlier, on October 19, he was also at the medical facility, but was discharged shortly after.

According to Feikrishvili's lawyer, Paata Gogiashvili, several people, including Vato Kiphiani and Avtandil Bilanishvili ("Kaotsro"), inflicted physical injuries on his client in the prison cell. The lawyer also said that Davit Feikrishvili inflicted self-harm, and that on October 19 his brother, Giorgi Feikrishvili, slit his veins. According to the lawyer, Davit Feikrishvili had broken ribs and facial bones, and his skull was also damaged.

The Penitentiary Service had denied the beating until the night of October 20, when the Ministry of Justice announced that an investigation had been launched into the injury to the prisoner's health based on information circulated in the media.

Twin brothers Davit and Giorgi Feikrishvili were arrested on September 22 in two separate cases: on charges of group violence and extortion. On October 2 it became known that a new case had also been opened against them, and they are accused of unlawfully legalizing 10 million GEL.

Vato Kiphiani and Avto Bilanishvili [Kaotsro] were arrested on October 15 in connection with a brawl at a restaurant. According to the lawyer, they were placed in the same cell as Davit Feikrishvili, together with others. All of these prisoners are currently in Gldani Prison No. 8.

Vato Kiphiani was previously charged with planning the liquidation of the Feikrishvili brothers. In 2020 the State Security Service disseminated information that the Ukrainian Security Service had prevented their murder through a joint operation. According to the prosecution's version, Kiphiani, who was in Ukraine, was planning the attack. He was arrested in 2021 after being expelled from Ukraine to Georgia. According to Kiphiani's lawyer, he left prison after nine months of detention, because the court failed to establish his guilt in the attempted liquidation.