Giorgi Bachiashvili, the former head of Georgia’s Co-Investment Fund, has released a letter from Penitentiary No. 18 alleging he was violently assaulted in his prison cell by an unidentified individual. He claims the attack is part of a broader campaign to pressure him into surrendering his financial assets.
In his written account, Bachiashvili describes the alleged incident as a “deliberate provocation,” stating that on the evening of July 11, an unfamiliar man entered his cell and launched an unprovoked physical attack.
“Around 7 PM, a stranger entered my cell. When I asked who he was, he replied aggressively, ‘Here, I ask the questions.’ I immediately understood he had been sent to provoke me,” he wrote.
Bachiashvili says the assailant verbally abused him before escalating to physical violence — punching him, biting his shoulder, and eventually smashing a glass teacup over his head. He claims to have briefly lost consciousness and awoke to find the attacker still beating him and attempting to stab him with broken glass, resulting in cuts to his wrist.
Following the incident, he was examined by a prison doctor and requested a transfer to the private Vivamedi Clinic due to severe symptoms, including headache, nausea, and light sensitivity. He alleges that although he fainted during treatment, he repeatedly asked to contact his lawyer and the Public Defender’s office. These requests were denied. He was eventually transferred to Vivamedi but claims his request to remain there was refused, and he was forcibly returned to Penitentiary No. 8.
On the morning of July 12, showing symptoms consistent with a concussion, Bachiashvili says he began a hunger strike and demanded relocation. Later that day, he was moved to Penitentiary No. 18 and was finally allowed to contact the Public Defender’s office.
Bachiashvili believes the attack was linked to efforts to unlawfully confiscate his property. “I request to be kept in solitary confinement under continuous video surveillance,” he stated. “Otherwise, my life and health remain in danger.”
