Penitentiary Service denies alleged restrictions on jailed opposition figure Nadiradze

Georgia’s Special Penitentiary Service on Wednesday claimed jailed opposition figure Irakli Nadiradze had no restrictions imposed on him and has not complained about his detention conditions, rejecting claims by former President Mikheil Saakashvili that Nadiradze was being intimidated in prison.

The service said Nadiradze is housed in a four-person cell with three other inmates in accordance with legal requirements and European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) standards.

It stressed that neither Nadiradze nor any of his cellmates had filed a complaint with the prison administration. Nadiradze currently has access to both telephone calls and visits and can communicate freely with the outside world, according to the statement.

The Penitentiary Service described Saakashvili’s social-media post as “provocative and defamatory,” saying it was intended to mislead part of the public and discredit the penitentiary system.

Saakashvili had claimed that an inmate detained on charges of violence had been placed in Nadiradze’s cell, allegedly as a means of intimidating him.

The service said similar false claims concerning other defendants or convicted prisoners had previously been circulated through Saakashvili’s official social-media account and used for political purposes. It urged against spreading what it described as false information, warning that such statements could potentially cause conflict among inmates.