Thousands of protesters rallied in Georgia on Friday to demand the prosecution of top officials fired in a prison abuse scandal that threatens to unseat the governing pro-Western party in the country s upcoming elections. The protests sparked by graphic videos showing guards in the former Soviet republic brutally beating prisoners and raping them with truncheons and broom handles have increased pressure on President Mikhail Saakashvili whose party is facing a tough opposition challenge. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered overnight outside the Gldani prison in Tbilisi where the videos of abuse were filmed stopping several prison vans and asking prisoners inside whether they had suffered abuse. The protests continued in the Georgian capital on Friday with demonstrators attempting to break police cordons and get close to the Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili who was attending the opening ceremony of Justice House in central Tbilisi. Speaking at the opening ceremony the Georgian president said those who were recording and disseminating footage of violence in the prison had political aims. Saakashvili accused the opposition of getting support from Russia which he claimed was using the turmoil in Georgia to bring it into its sphere of its interest. They want these elections to bring Georgia to the past dark times. We know very well we are not blind that with the Russian money Russian style blackmailing they are conducting a classical Russian campaign to bring Georgia into the Russian Empire. Saakashvili has sought to contain the damage by firing his interior minister and the minister in charge of the penitentiary system while also reshuffling prison personnel. But despite these efforts protesters increased their demands as rallies went into a third day on Friday insisting that former Interior Minister Bacho Akhalaya and his brother who was a deputy defence minister be brought to justice. An opposition victory in the October 1 vote would make its multi-billionaire b leader Bidzina Ivanishvili Georgia s prime minister. Ivanishvili would then become Georgia s leader next year after Saakashvili s second and final term ends thanks to a political reform that will shift power from the presidency to the parliament and the prime minister. Ivanishvili and his allies have cautioned their supporters against taking to the streets apparently fearing a government crackdown that may derail the vote and steal what they hope will be their victory. While not denying that the prison abuse took place Saakashvili s government has accused the opposition of staging the videos and waiting to broadcast them until the final weeks of the election campaign. One of the two channels that aired the videos belongs to Ivanishvili. Both sides have expressed a desire for the election to take place peacefully.

• published: 31 Oct 2013
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