Georgian Prisoner Escapes from Rustavi Courthouse

RUSTAVI, Georgia – Georgian police are searching for a prisoner who reportedly escaped from the district courthouse in the small town of Rustavi, just south of the capital Tbilisi.

The Corrections Ministry on Wednesday confirmed that Otar Varamashvili feigned illness and escaped from an ambulance after being attended to by a medic.

“The inmate managed to escape when he was being provided with medical assistance. A search party is currently looking for him,” the ministry said.

A prisoner managed to escape from a court building in Gurjaani, a city in Kakheti region, in 2015.

He was caught a few days later in the Black Sea city Batumi trying to cross the border into Turkey.