12 September 2012: Georgia prison protests

On this day, 12 September 2012 (content note: sexual violence), TV channels broadcast video showing systemic torture and sexual assault of inmates in the Gldani prison number eight in Tbilisi, Georgia, resulting in mass protests.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Tbilisi that night, while friends and relatives of those imprisoned headed to the prison. Protests also erupted in other cities like Batumi, Gori, Katisi and Poti.

The government quickly issued an apology, and the interior and penitentiary ministers resigned, but protests continued, despite the Georgian Dream opposition movement urging protests to stop. The following month, the ruling party lost the election to Georgian Dream, who had agreed to improve the penal system. By the following year, 48 mostly low-ranking prison officials had been prosecuted, and a mass amnesty released half of the country's 24,000 prisoners.

More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8443/georgia-torture-protests

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