"Incident Between Inmates" – Penitentiary Service on the Beating of Bachiashvili

“Due to high public interest, we would like to inform the public that inmate G.B. was placed in a penitentiary facility on May 27, 2025. He was housed in a cell equipped with surveillance cameras, not in solitary confinement, and at various times shared the cell with different inmates, including up until July 12 of this year.

Additionally, we note that on July 11 of this year, an incident occurred in the penitentiary cell involving inmates, resulting in two inmates sustaining various injuries.

Inmate G.B. received immediate first aid in the penitentiary facility and was transferred to the clinic Vivamedi, where he was diagnosed with superficial injuries.

He underwent all necessary clinical-laboratory and instrumental examinations, received consultations from various medical specialists, and based on the medical staff's recommendations, was returned to Penitentiary Facility No. 8 the same day.

Then, on July 12 of this year, G.B. was transferred to Penitentiary Medical Facility No. 18, where he is receiving appropriate medical care and is under constant supervision by medical personnel. The inmate remains in the No. 18 medical facility along with a cellmate,” statement says.

According to the Special Penitentiary Service, since the day the “incident” was registered, the relevant investigative unit of the Ministry of Justice “has been conducting an investigation, and intensive investigative actions are underway.”

The Public Defender also responded to the beating of Giorgi Bachiashvili. Levan Ioseliani stated that “it is of utmost importance that the investigation establishes all relevant circumstances related to the violence, including any potential involvement of the facility’s administration in criminal conduct, and whether risks related to the inmate’s safety were effectively managed.”

The first report on Bachiashvili’s beating was aired by TV Pirveli on July 14, shortly after which the prisoner himself released a detailed letter describing the incident.

According to Bachiashvili, on the evening of July 11 at 7 PM, a person unknown to him entered the cell where he had been staying alone for the past week and subjected him to verbal and physical abuse. He says that three days prior to this incident, on July 8, he was summoned by the head of Facility No. 8, Davit Gogoberishvili, who “repeatedly advised” him to provide Bidzina Ivanishvili with access to his "bank accounts, cryptocurrency transactions, and account addresses."

“I connect my beating to an unlawful attempt to forcibly seize my property and to intimidation,” says Giorgi Bachiashvili, who has been sentenced to 11 years in prison in the so-called Bitcoin case.

Bachiashvili was sued by Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chairman of the Georgian Dream party. According to the Prosecutor's Office, Bachiashvili handed over only $536,900 to Ivanishvili from the profits of the investment, while unlawfully appropriating the remaining 8,986 bitcoins owed to the investor, valued at approximately $43 million at the time. Giorgi Bachiashvili does not consider himself guilty.