Prosecutor’s Office to investigate death of prisoner

Georgia’s Prosecutor’s Office will investigate the death of a man who died after a fight between inmates in Geguti Prison. 

Gigi Partenadze died following a fight with his cell mates on March 5, 2014.

A Ministry of Corrections statement said there was a lot of public interest in the case and Corrections Minister, Sozar Subari, had personally asked the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the incident.

"This is aimed to provide maximum confidence in the investigation,” read the statement.

The case will be investigated by Western Georgia’s Prosecutor’s Office.

In a comment to journalists, Patrenadze’s family said the body of their loved one showed signs of "severe beatings”. The family was sure Partenadze was tortured and blamed the Geguti Prison administration for the incident.

This is the second time in recent weeks Geguti Prison has appeared in the media. On February 7, about a thousand prisoners from Geguti Prison went on a hunger strike. 

At the time, inmates accused the prison officials of "brutal treatment” and demanded the resignation of numerous prison administration staff.

The hunger strike ended on February 12 and the prisoners’ demands were not met. During the hunger strike about 50 inmates harmed themselves with the intention of seeing their protest gain further traction.