Georgia

Giorgi Varabiovi, a guard at Rustavi Prison No 6 who participated in the search of prisoner Giorgi Davitadze in a de-escalation room, handed in his resignation in March, according to the service. The service said his departure was not in any way connected to Davidatze’s case.

Davitadze has claimed that prison staff raped and humiliated him in a prison de-escalation room in December 2025.

‘The person left the job of his own decision. We cannot link his departure to anything’, the service said.

Varabiovi was the only guard wearing medical gloves during the incident, as seen in video footage released by the authorities, which attracted interest online.

OC Media also contacted Giorgi Varabiovi for comment. This article will be updated if a response is received.

Davitadze’s allegations became public on 2 October, when he raised them at the Tbilisi Court of Appeals.

Before the investigation was officially closed, the Special Penitentiary Service denied the allegations and released video footage of the incident, which it said showed no violence. Public Defender Levan Ioseliani also said his office had found no evidence of physical violence in the footage.

The Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Monday that it had ended its investigation into the alleged sexual assault, concluding that no violence or criminal act had taken place against Davitadze. The agency said its investigation included interviews with dozens of witnesses, analysis of hours of video footage, and several expert examinations.

Davitadze’s family disputed the findings. His parents accused Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of influencing the investigation’s outcome, while his lawyer, Salome Januashvili, said the decision would be appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) after all domestic legal procedures had been exhausted.

The allegations sparked public outcry and expressions of solidarity from other prisoners. Several detainees who protested have claimed that they were physically and verbally abused in response.

Davitadze, the son of former Tbilisi City Council member Avtandil Davitadze, is serving a 17-year prison sentence after being convicted of stabbing Interior Ministry employee Shalva Peradze. His family links the alleged abuse in prison to the case involving Peradze.