On February 16, 2023, the European Court of Human Rights published its decision in the case Ochigawa v. Georgia, which proved once again that the torture and ill-treatment of prisoners in Georgian penitentiary institutions until 2012 "was a problem of a systematic nature and characteristic of the entire system".

The above-mentioned conclusion of the European Court is based on the information provided to the court by the applicant Akaki Ochigawa, as well as reports and documents published on the basis of the fact-finding visit of the Public Defender and non-governmental organizations, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, as well as, decisions of national courts.

In addition, the European Court reviewed footage published in the Georgian media in September 2012 about the ill-treatment/torture of prisoners in various prison facilities, including Gldani prison (Penitentiary No. 8) (so-called “Prison Scandal").

From the decision of the Strasbourg court, it is established once again that torture of prisoners in Georgian prisons was practiced systematically, among others, in the following forms:

The practice of necessarily beating newly placed prisoners - the so-called quarantine procedure; systematic beating of prisoners several times a week; so-called long-term confinement in solitary confinement and small solitary cells for punishment, where there was nothing but a metal bed, and prisoners had to sit on cement floors during the day. The bed was folded and attached to the wall with a lock. The staff of the institution unfolded the bed and allowed the complainant to use it only between 10 pm and 8 am; the prisoners also had to stand up the whole time if several prisoners were placed in the cell at the same time; restriction of food intake and use of the toilet for the prisoners; permanent restrictions on meeting with family members; Covering them with a special kind of helmet and stuffing a ball in their mouths so that they could not talk; conversation between the prisoners was allowed only in whispers.

The purpose of this mistreatment was to force the prisoners to obey and cooperate with the prison administration. The complainant Akaki Ochigawa experienced the aforementioned forms of torture on himself. However, in November 2011, he was beaten with extreme cruelty, as a result of which he damaged his spine and lost the ability to walk. After complaining about the mentioned fact, the investigator advised him to declare that he got injured when he fell out of bed. The applicant refused, which is why the employees of the institution broke his toes with a baseball bat. Most of his fingers were deformed from multiple fractures. In addition, the applicant was not provided with proper medical care. In addition, during one of the incidents, the prison staff stripped him in the shower room, poured cold water on him and beat him severely with batons. There was a case when the applicant lost consciousness due to beatings, and after regaining consciousness, he found himself handcuffed to a pipe in the prison morgue, among the dead.

As a result of the above-mentioned treatment in the penitentiary, the applicant has been a disabled person since March 28, 2014.

Taking into account all of the above, the European Court found that the applicant was subjected to torture in Gldani prison and that it was part of the systemic torture that existed at the time, which was characteristic of the whole system.

It is worth noting that victims of ill-treatment did not report cases of torture both during non-personal and personal (family) contacts before the government changes of October 2012. This was partly due to the lack of hope for the improvement of the situation, the fear of further punishment and the ineffectiveness of the protection mechanisms. Akaki Ochigawa was also able to speak about improper treatment only after the change of government.

As the complainant told the prosecutor, he felt safe enough to file a complaint about ill-treatment in Gldani prison after the prison scandal and the October 2012 government changes.

As a result of the investigation of the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia, in 2017, a number of people were charged with the torture of Akaki Ochigawa, and on February 6, 2018, the defendants were found guilty by the Tbilisi City Court. The judgment was left unchanged by the Tbilisi Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Georgia. Akaki Ochigawa, an ex-convict, was known to be a victim in this case, along with other persons.

In spite of the above, taking into account the systematic nature and scale of the violation, the European Court also found flaws in the procedural part of Article 3 of the Convention (obligation to investigate), because the arrest and trial of the responsible persons took place 5 years after the occurrence of the contested facts, which was considered a long time for the execution of justice.

The court awarded the applicant 20,000 euros for moral damages.