Gldani prison scandal

Torture in Georgian prisons under the United National Movement In 2004, the pro-Western liberal autocratic United National Movement party of Mikheil Saakashvili came to power in Georgia through the Western-backed Rose Revolution. It started to implement liberal reforms in Georgia through authoritarian means.{{cite web |url=http://liberali.ge/blogs/view/5833/saqartvelos-politikuri-landshafti-natsili-meore--natsionaluri-modzraoba|title=საქართველოს პოლიტიკური ლანდშაფტი (ნაწილი მეორე - ნაციონალური მოძრაობა) ==Whistleblower==

The video evidence of prison torture was leaked by a former prison officer Vladimir Bedukadze, who fled to Belgium and was briefly wanted in connection with the abuse, but eventually the prosecution decided to relieve him of criminal responsibility as a result of plea bargaining deal on the grounds that Bedukadze helped to uncover "systemic crimes in the Georgian penitentiary". ==Videos==

In the videos prisoners are shown being raped with broom handles and police batons. • The first video shows ten prison guards conducting physical and verbal abuse on prisoners. • In the second video a man is forced to take off his underpants and do what he was told. He is then insulted and spat upon; During the offence, an attacker makes references to him being a thief in law. In the last part of the video, the man is seen writing something under dictation. • In the third video an Armenian prisoner is shown fettered to a cell rod and cursing Georgian prison officers. In the same video a masked man is appealing to the torturers not to record a video of him. He is mocked, humiliated and possibly raped. The third part of the video shows a rear view of a man who is repeatedly asked if he was thief in law answers of which were all: "I am a thief in law!". • In the fourth video is shown a youth detention center, where inmates were physically abused and forced to insult thieves in law under threat of being raped if they did not comply. ==Reactions==

Government reaction Saakashvili demanded a complete overhaul of the prison system and commanded Vano Merabishvili to immediately enter all prisons with patrol police. "There must be zero tolerance to any violations of human rights, because we are building a civilised and humane country, rather than discipline based on violence," he said. People's response An orchestrated protest rally gathered around the Philharmonic Hall on September 18, where the president was expected to arrive. On the next day, protesters reconvened again outside the Philharmonic Hall and marched on Rustaveli Avenue towards the government's office. Student protests The news was met with a strong response from Georgian students. The protests drew a large number of students who protested the condition of the prison system and the inhumane treatment of prisoners shown in the video. Student groups declared that the scandal was not an isolated case and emphasized that this was the fault of the system, which needed to change. The absence of free, impartial media sources and freedom of expression was also a cause of the protests. ==Later developments==

The video footage, which confirmed long-standing allegations of ill-treatment of prisoners, was revealed two weeks before the parliamentary elections. On 20 August 2024, the Georgian Dream party announced its intention to initiate legal proceedings in the Georgian Constitutional Court to ban the United National Movement and its offshoot parties, including for widespread use of torture against the population. The ruling party head Bidzina Ivanishvili announced that the plans to ban the United National Movement were set up already in 2012-2013 but could not be implemented because "top Western officials fought tooth and nail to defend the bloody criminals". The European Union warned Georgia not to ban the mentioned parties. ==References==