Public Defender Calls Davitadze's Lawyer's Statement False, Lawyer Responds

The Public Defender's Office called a statement by the lawyer of prisoner Giorgi Davitadze false, according to which the Public Defender's representative advised the convict against an expert examination. Lawyer Darejan Sulashvili also responded to the office's statement.

On October 8, Sulashvili said on the TV Pirveli program "Dgis Ambebi" that in December 2025, after Davitadze said he had been sexually assaulted, she herself requested an examination at a meeting with a representative of the Public Defender to confirm the violence. According to the lawyer, the representative recommended that the examination be carried out within 72 hours, and only then would it be possible to establish injuries. However, by the time of the meeting, more than 72 hours had passed since the incident, and the examination was not carried out.

In Sulashvili's words: "This was not an initiative of the investigation, Giorgi himself requested it, and on the recommendation of the Public Defender's representative, he was, in effect, persuaded to change his mind."

The Public Defender's Office writes that documents signed by the prisoner confirm that Giorgi Davitadze stated he would consult his lawyer on the issue of an expert examination. The office explained that within its mandate it took all necessary actions to protect Davitadze's rights, and on the basis of its appeal, the Prosecutor General's Office launched an investigation, and monitoring continues to this day. The ombudsman's office assessed that any attempt to influence the Public Defender's representatives is alarming and serves neither the lawful rights of this particular prisoner nor those of other prisoners.

In response, Sulashvili said the office's statement confirms that a discussion about a forensic-medical examination did take place and that the initiative for the examination came from Davitadze. The lawyer says she said nothing on TV about the content of the document and now explains: during yesterday's visit, Davitadze told her that after he swallowed unknown substances, the Public Defender's representative entered his cell again and himself reminded him that he had also been with him the previous December.

According to Davitadze, he asked the representative to draft a document reflecting the content of the December conversation about the examination, which the representative would confirm with his signature. Davitadze recalled that during the conversation the representative reminded him how he had advised him in December to consult a lawyer about the examination. Davitadze explained that he agreed to this only so that a document would be drawn up. In the end, the document was drawn up and the Public Defender's representative signed it.

Sulashvili writes that this circumstance is particularly important for providing the public with complete and objective information. In her words, the existence of the document, its exact content and the circumstances reflected in it must be properly explained. The lawyer also explained the meaning of "discreditation" and added that the public itself can assess who faces the risk of discreditation.

Giorgi Davitadze, a prisoner at Penitentiary Facility No. 6 in Rustavi, became known on October 2 for accusing guards of rape. TV company Pirveli broadcast an audio recording of Davitadze from the appeals court, in which the prisoner says that after being moved to a de-escalation room, "a guard raped him." According to him, the guards also verbally insulted him. The alleged sexual violence took place on December 21, 2025, and the Public Defender's Office was also informed about it.

The Penitentiary Service released 4.5 minutes of silent video footage showing Davitadze's transfer to a de-escalation cell and his stay there. The agency explained that when a convict is moved to a cell, a search and inspection is carried out, to which Davitadze "categorically refused and began verbally insulting the facility's staff." After that, the staff forcibly carried out the search using an electronic detector. The service called Davitadze's statements false, and director Giorgi Pataridze thanked the staff of Facility No. 6 and said that the video showed "not even facts damaging dignity, let alone the use of excessive force."

Davitadze's mother said the published video does not fully show what happened, and a prosecutor showed the family roughly 20 minutes of material. In the Public Defender's Office's statement of October 2, information about the alleged violence and verbal insult was immediately passed to the Prosecutor's Office, which launched an investigation. Acting Public Defender Levan Ioseliani said he did not see in the video "any evidence of improper physical treatment or any type of violence." Former Public Defender Nino Lomjaria, in an assessment written on social media, said the video "confirms more what Giorgi Davitadze describes than it rules it out."