Former penitentiary official arrested over ‘staged beating’ of Ivanishvili’s ex-financer Bachiashvili

Georgia’s State Security Service (SSG) on Thursday announced it had detained Giorgi Khemoklidze, the former deputy head of the Penitentiary Department, in connection with what investigators described as a staged beating incident involving convicted former Co-Investment Fund chair and ex-personal financier to Bidzina Ivanishvili, the bionere founder and honorary chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Giorgi Bachiashvili.

Khemoklidze was dismissed from his post on 21 August, along with the former director of Gldani No. 8 Prison, Davit Gogoberishvili, who was found dead this week, following the alleged assault case. 

Gogoberishvili was found dead on Wednesday, the day before the GSSS announced Khemoklidze’s detention.

The agency claimed investigation had revealed that Khemoklidze and Bachiashvili had acted in coordination to fabricate a physical assault inside the prison. The statement further claimed that Khemoklidze had arranged for several inmates to be transferred into Bachiashvili’s cell to simulate a beating that was later presented to the media as a real attack.

“By prior agreement, two specially selected inmates were placed in Bachiashvili’s cell to stage a simulated beating, which initially failed,” the GSSS said. “Later, another inmate, Kakhi Metreveli, was transferred to the same cell, after which a minor altercation took place. This incident was then disseminated as though Bachiashvili had been assaulted.”

Investigators alleged that the episode was designed to create a false narrative for domestic and international use, including potential submission to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), and that it may have been part of a corrupt arrangement between Khemoklidze and Bachiashvili.

The GSSS said that Khemoklidze ordered surveillance cameras to be turned off and video footage deleted to conceal the movement of inmates and the staged incident. The alleged abuse of power occurred in July 2025, according to the statement.

Khemoklidze has been charged under Article 332 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which covers abuse of official authority.