Penitentiary Service Denies Reports that Subeliani was Beaten

The Special Penitentiary Service, an agency in charge of the country’s prison facilities, has denied reports that Mirza Subeliani, a former Prosecution Office official, who has implicated senior Georgian Dream officials in case-fixing and other criminal offenses, was beaten.

Reports that Subeliani was physically assaulted emerged late on October 18. The news first appeared in Facebook, and was later picked up by major television and online outlets.

The Penitentiary Service issued a brief statement in response to the allegations, rejecting the reports “categorically.” The agency also said the inmate “is under 24-hour visual surveillance,” and that it would authorize the lawyer’s “immediate visit” to Subeliani’s prison cell.

Mirza Subeliani denied these reports as well, according to Natia Kuprashvili, a representative of the Public Defender’s Office, who visited the inmate late-night yesterday.

Kuprashvili said the man had signs of injuries, which, according to Subeliani, were developed on October 15, when he attempted suicide. “He has minor bruises on both legs, on the elbow and the neck,” she noted.

Natia Kuprashvili added that Subeliani’s account was also confirmed by the medical logbook. “The last record on Subeliani was registered on October 15, when he attempted suicide, and the injuries recorded in it entirely match all the injuries showed by Subeliani to me.”

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