Prison abuse video shakes Georgia

Published on 20/09/2012 01:41

Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili has promised to punish those responsible for torturing and raping prisoners, after video of the abuse was shown on television and sparked protests in the capital, Tbilisi.

The government of the former Soviet republic said guards had been paid to stage the abuse for political motives, less than two weeks before a parliamentary election in the former Soviet republic. The prosecutor’s office said 10 people had been arrested including the head of the Tbilisi prison, two deputies and a number of guards. The prisons minister said she was resigning.

“Tonight, I tell all the victims of these inhuman actions and the whole nation that the Georgia we have built and we are all building together shall not and will not tolerate such behaviour – in its prisons or anywhere else,” Mr Saakashvili said.

“Those who committed these crimes will spend long years
in jail.”