Giorgi Udesiani and Alexandre Mukhadze found guilty of torture and extortion of businessman Besarion Khardziani

Tbilisi City Court has fully upheld the evidence submitted by the Prosecution Service, finding Giorgi Udesiani and Alexandre Mukhadze, the former director of Penitentiary Department Facility No. 8, guilty of the torture and extortion of businessman Besarion Khardziani, aimed at coercing him into relinquishing his shares in Kus Tba.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, evidence examined during the trial confirmed that in 2008, Giorgi Udesiani and Besarion Khardziani became business partners in Kus Tba Kala LLC and Kus Tba Palace LLC.

“In 2011, officers from the Special Operations Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs arrested Besarion Khardziani on charges of illegal acquisition and possession of narcotics. Following his remand in custody, he was placed in Penitentiary Department Facility No. 8.

Intending to unlawfully seize the Kus Tba shares owned by Besarion Khardziani and his family members and acquire total control over the relevant properties, Giorgi Udesiani devised and executed a violent, criminal scheme. The defendant contacted Alexandre Mukhadze, the then-director of Facility No. 8, with whom he shared a close personal relationship, and instructed him to create such conditions for the businessman inside the prison that would force Khardziani and his family to surrender their ownership shares.

Two inmates trusted by the prison administration were placed in Besarion Khardziani’s cell; Alexandre Mukhadze instructed them to use any means necessary to force Khardziani to surrender his Kus Tba shares. For nearly two months, these individuals systematically subjected him to both psychological and physical abuse, coercing him into transferring the property in favour of Giorgi Udesiani. Furthermore, on Mukhadze’s orders, staff members at Facility No. 8 directly participated in and facilitated the violence inflicted on Khardziani. Udesiani also exerted physical and psychological pressure on Khardziani’s brother, Giorgi Khardziani.

Ultimately, as a result of physical and psychological violence, inmate Besarion Khardziani and his family members were forced to relinquish their shares in Kus Tba Kala LLC and Kus Tba Palace LLC to Giorgi Udesiani, as failure to comply carried threats of rape and murder in prison. The property in question was valued at approximately 4,000,000 GEL.

Tbilisi City Court found Giorgi Udesiani guilty under Article 25 and Article 144¹ (2)(d) and (g) (Organising Torture committed against two or more persons, and against a detainee or otherwise liberty-restricted person) and Article 181 (2)(c) (Extortion committed for the purpose of obtaining large-scale property) of the Criminal Code of Georgia, sentencing him to ten years and six months of imprisonment.

Alexandre Mukhadze was found guilty under Article 144¹ (2)(a), (g), and (h) (Torture committed by an official, against a detainee or otherwise liberty-restricted person, by order) and Article 333 (3)(b) and (c) (Exceeding Official Authority committed through violence and insulting the personal dignity of the victim) of the Criminal Code of Georgia, and was sentenced to ten years and six months of imprisonment,” the Prosecutor’s Office statement read.