Fifth President Zourabichvili slams prison conditions after assault claim by Ivanishvili’s jailed ex-financier

Georgia’s fifth President, Salome Zourabichvili, has condemned the country’s prison conditions as “alarming” following claims that Giorgi Bachiashvili, the jailed former head of the Co-Investment Fund, was physically assaulted in custody.

“What is happening is outrageous,” Zourabichvili said on Monday, describing Bachiashvili’s case as part of a broader “chaos in the country in all respects.” She accused the penitentiary system of violating basic standards that “are considered essential in any country.”

According to Zourabichvili, Bachiashvili was beaten in his cell and later transferred to a clinic without warning, explanation, or public information. “This is a violation of all human rights,” she said, adding, “I do not know where the Public Defender is or how much they have reacted to all this.”

The former president drew parallels to past abuses under Georgia’s previous administration, warning that prison mistreatment played a key role in its downfall. “Everyone should know that responsibility for this will ultimately lie with those who give the orders, and those who blindly carry them out,” she warned.

“This is not Georgia. This is not Georgian tradition. This is not the law we’ve been building for centuries. This is another regime, another country - we will not tolerate this for a single minute.”

Bachiashvili, once a high-profile financier with Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, is currently serving a prison sentence on charges his supporters describe as politically motivated. In a recent statement, he alleged that he was assaulted by an unidentified individual while in detention.