The Interior Minister of Georgia, Irakli Garibashvili [photo], announced on 17 June 2013, that a weapons cache was discovered in the region of Samegrelo. It also contained drugs, in addition to written documents and videos. Nine people were arrested, including a Ministry of Defence official and two police officers.
On 20 June, the Minister of the Interior organized a private screening of the captured videos for the press. Shot two years ago, they show the police raping and torturing prisoners favorable to the current government. The Minister has decided not to release the documents to the public because of the unsustainable sadistic content.
The government of Bidzina Ivanishvili (pro-Russian) intends to demonstrate that its predecessor, a staunch US ally, was engaged in systematic torture.
On September 18, 2012, the videos which were disseminated on the Internet and television revealed the rape and torture of prisoners at Gldani No. 8 penitentiary (on the outskirts of the capital), causing the government to resign.
Supporters of President Mikhail Saakashvili walked out of the screening in protest. Speaking on television, President Saakashvili stated that the perpetrators of these crimes should be punished and attributed the crimes to the practices of the former communist regime. His party has requested the opening of a parliamentary commission of inquiry.
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