Georgia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has recommended that the Justice Ministry suspend Giorgi Pataridze, the head of the Special Penitentiary Service, in connection with an investigation into the alleged beating of inmate Davit Peikrishvili.

The recommendation come amid renewed scrutiny of abuse in Georgia’s prison system following the case of Giorgi Davitadze, who claimed that prison staff raped and humiliated him in a prison de-escalation room in December 2025.

The case was transferred from the Justice Ministry’s General Inspectorate to the investigative department of the Prosecutor General’s Office. The agency said that all necessary investigative and procedural measures were being carried out intensively.

‘At the same time, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Georgia has recommended that the Justice Ministry suspend Giorgi Pataridze, the head of the Special Penitentiary Service under the Justice Ministry’, the agency told OC Media.

The Special Penitentiary Service has categorically denied reports that Peikrishvili was physically assaulted in prison. An inmate at Georgia’s Gldani Prison, Davit Peikrishvili, has been hospitalised twice over a span of two days, with his lawyer alleging that fellow inmates beat him. The clinic’s director Zurab Chkhaidze told OC Media that Peikrishvili had wounds on his upper limbs.

Peikrishvili’s allegations have also been denied by Vato Kipiani, whom Peikrishvili has accused of beating him. Kipiani’s lawyer said that his client denied both the allegations of assault and claims that he had been placed in Peikrishvili’s cell.

Vato Kipiani, Avtandil ‘Katsro’ Bilanishvili, and Shota Kipiani were arrested in mid-October in connection with a fight at a restaurant, and Kipiani and the Peikrishvili brothers have a long history of conflict. In 2020, Georgian authorities accused Kipiani of planning to kill the brothers. His lawyer later said he was released after nine months in detention because the court did not establish his guilt in the alleged plot.

Davit and Giorgi Peikrishvili were arrested in September in separate cases involving alleged group violence and extortion. In October, the Prosecutor General’s Office brought additional charges against the brothers, accusing them of laundering approximately ₾10 million ($4.9 million) in illicit funds between 2020 and 2026. If convicted, they face up to 12 years in prison.

Asked by journalists whether the Prosecutor General’s Office’s move confirmed that an inmate had indeed been placed in Peikrishvili’s cell and beaten, Parliamentary Speaker Shalva Papuashvili rejected the suggestion.

‘No, of course, this does not confirm that. It confirms that the Prosecutor’s Office is conducting an investigation and may approach [the relevant authorities] to carry out whatever procedures are necessary’, Papuashvili said.

The case concerns allegations made by Peikrishvili’s lawyer, who said on 19 October that his client had been severely beaten in prison. The inmate has accused several people of attacking him, including one person who was placed under investigation for allegedly trying to kill Peikrishvili and his brother.

According to the lawyer, Peikrishvili said that on 16 October, newly detained Vato Kipiani had been placed in his cell and had assaulted him alongside others.

Marika Pkhakadze, who legally represents Vato Kipiani, one of the inmates Peikrishvili accuses of attacking him, has denied the assault allegations. She told TV Formula that Kipiani did not share a cell with Peikrishvili.

Forty-year-old twin brothers Davit and Giorgi Peikrishvili were arrested on 22 September 2026 in connection with separate cases.

The Justice Ministry’s General Inspectorate launched an investigation into the alleged beating on 20 October, before the case was transferred to the Prosecutor General’s Office.

The allegations come amid other reports of abuse in Georgia’s penitentiary system. In a separate case, inmate Giorgi Davitadze accused a prison escort guard of rape. One of the guards accused in the case had left Georgia’s Penitentiary Service in March.

Davitadze’s family shared an audio recording on Friday, aired by opposition leaning TV Pirveli,  in which another inmate, Gela Isashvili, alleged that prison staff had assaulted him after he expressed solidarity with Davitadze.

The Special Penitentiary Service categorically denied Isashvili’s allegations of inhuman treatment at Prison No 6, claiming that the allegations were untrue. The service also accused Isashvili of repeatedly violating prison rules and said an investigation had been launched into an alleged assault by Isashvili against a prison employee in August 2026.