Former aide to de facto leader of Georgia being held as ‘personal prisoner’, mother claims

Giorgi Bachiashvili and his mother, Marina, who claims he has allegedly been beaten in his prison cell. Photograph: Supplied

The mother of a jailed former aide to Bidzina Ivanishvili has accused the de facto leader of Georgia of treating her son as his “personal prisoner” as she appealed to the west for help.

Marina Ramazashvili, a renowned ophthalmologist in Georgia, said Giorgi Bachiashvili, who has allegedly been beaten in his prison cell, was the victim of a “vendetta” waged by the billionaire politician.