Well-known underworld figure Davit Peikrishvili was taken to hospital twice after alleged beatings in Gldani Prison No. 8 in Tbilisi, sparking a fresh fight over prison violence and inmate politics. His lawyer says prison authorities put five inmates he calls “underworld enemies” into his cell on 16 October, after the men were arrested the previous day over a restaurant fight. The group included Vato Kipiani and Avtandil Bilanishvili, known as Katsro. According to Peikrishvili’s lawyer, the inmates beat him for several days and demanded the codes to his phone. The lawyer says investigators later seized the Peikrishvili brothers’ phones and laptops during a search. The Special Penitentiary Service denies that Peikrishvili was mistreated, saying nobody treated him badly. Kipiani’s lawyer goes further, claiming the two men were never held in the same cell. The case has also been tied to wider allegations about Georgia’s elite networks. Georgian media have linked Bilanishvili to Bera Ivanishvili, the son of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, widely regarded as the power behind the scenes. Opposition politicians are now linking the Peikrishvili case to cryptocurrency wallets, fraudulent call centres and the Ivanishvili family, though Peikrishvili’s lawyer rules out a political motive. Peikrishvili and his brother, Giorgi Peikrishvili, were arrested on 22 September 2026 on charges of violence and extortion. Kipiani and Bilanishvili were arrested on 15 October on charges of group violence. The lawyer adds that earlier, in January 2020, law enforcement agencies announced they had foiled a plot to kill the brothers, with Vato Kipiani charged in connection with that case. The Public Defender’s hotline received a report of alleged ill-treatment at 16:31 on 19 October. A representative visited the prison that day, but Peikrishvili refused to meet them, according to the ombudsman’s office. Peikrishvili’s injuries are said to be severe. His lawyer alleges he suffered four broken ribs, fractures to his skull and facial bones, and bruises, while his mother says she was told he had five broken ribs and a double jaw fracture. On 17 October, journalist Keta Tsitskishvili wrote on Facebook that someone had beaten Peikrishvili in prison. The Penitentiary Service press office denied it in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. After Peikrishvili called his mother on 19 October and told her he was fine, the same day staff took him to Vivamedi clinic at 21:00. The clinic’s medical director said he had multiple injuries. A second incident followed the next day. The Penitentiary Service says Peikrishvili left a meeting with his lawyer, smashed a corridor window and threatened to hurt himself with broken glass, urging other inmates to disrupt prison operations. The law prohibits meetings between the brothers because they face charges in the same case. Peikrishvili’s lawyer says he had already been injured in his cell. The Ministry of Justice has launched an investigation into the allegations.