Fellow Georgians, 

What happened in the Gldani number 8 penitentiary facility is a horrific affront to human rights and human dignity.

Those who organized, committed and allowed these crimes to happen will be severely punished.

The police have already arrested most of those identified as involved in these gross abuses. Others are on the run but being actively pursued by police.

This case had already been under investigation because some of the perpetrators had recently been identified as connected with organized crime figures.

Tonight, I tell all the victims of these inhuman actions and the whole nation that the Georgia we have built and we are all building together shall not and will not tolerate such behavior -- in its prisons or anywhere else.

We have not overcome years of impunity and lawlessness to allow some people, whether they are from the criminal world or, worse, from the penitentiary system itself, to commit such crimes.

Those who were responsible for the penitentiary system and could not prevent such atrocities have been fired.

Those who committed these crimes will spend long years in jail.

The whole idea of our new Georgia stands against this violence, which is a reminiscence of our past that shall be and will be eradicated.

I ordered the relevant ministries to work restlessly on this case, identify, arrest and bring to justice all these criminals.

I will personally make sure that justice is delivered.

And I will personally supervise that the dignity of our prisoners is safeguarded in our system, against the abuses of the members of the criminal world and of those corrupt rotten members of the penitentiary who behave like mafia members.

I will supervise this because every Georgian has the same right to dignity and fair treatment in the nation we are all building together.

Our nation is based on the respect of human rights and human dignity and it will get rid of this ugly violence.