Giorgi Pataridze, Director General of the Special Penitentiary Service, has responded to allegations made by the family of convict Giorgi Davitadze, calling them "an absolute lie."

The statement in question was made by Giorgi Davitadze's family to the media, claiming that convict Davitadze "was beaten by guards at Rustavi Prison and is being subjected to systematic violence."

As Pataridze explains, relevant materials concerning the convict were handed over to both investigative bodies and representatives of the Public Defender; in neither instance did any signs of a crime—or even any critical remarks—emerge regarding the Penitentiary Service.

"Unfortunately, yesterday we heard very serious accusations leveled against the Penitentiary Service by the parents of convict Giorgi Davitadze—accusations which, I wish to emphasize, are a lie and a theater of the absurd. Back in December of last year, video footage concerning convicted inmate Giorgi Davitadze was handed over to both investigative bodies and representatives of the Public Defender; yet, for nine months now, not only have no signs of a crime emerged, but there hasn't been a single complaint or issue raised regarding our actions," stated Giorgi Pataridze.

As Pataridze noted, acting on his own decision, the archiving of all video footage related to Davitadze has been underway since March 2026.

"Additionally, by my personal decision, the archiving of video footage has been in progress since March 3 of this year; this covers the entire period of convict Davitadze’s time in his cell, as well as all his movements within the grounds of Penitentiary Establishment No. 6," Giorgi Pataridze stated.

He added that the Penitentiary Service is prepared to provide the video footage concerning convict Giorgi Davitadze to any interested parties, in accordance with established legal procedures.

He also urged everyone to "refrain from making false and deliberately misleading statements."

Giorgi Pataridze thanked the employees of the Special Penitentiary Service for their work. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to every single employee of the Penitentiary Service and, of course, to the staff of Penitentiary Institution No. 6, who are distinguished by their high level of professionalism," stated Giorgi Pataridze.