Video footage showing prisoners being abused by guards in Georgia has triggered anti-government protests in the country.
Uniformed officers in Tbilisi's jail are seen severely beating inmates and sexually assaulting one with a broom.
The minister in charge of prisons was forced to offer her resignation after the film was aired on national TV.
The ruling party said the video was staged by the opposition to discredit the government ahead of key elections.
For critics, though, this is graphic proof that the authorities' tough approach to crime has become unaccountable and heavy-handed, the BBC's Damien McGuinness in Tbilisi reports.
Anger and shockThe film showing abuse in the Gldani prison No. 8 was broadcast on TV on Tuesday.
It triggered overnight protests in Tbilisi and also in the southern city of Batumi, Georgian media say.
In the capital, angry protesters demanded the resignation of Khatuna Kalmakhelidze, the minister in charge of prisons.
On Wednesday, Ms Kalmahelidze said she had decided to step down because her efforts to protect human rights in prisons had "proved insufficient".
President Mikheil Saakashvili expressed his anger and shock over the TV footage, promising to punish those responsible.
It has long been suspected that prisoners in Georgia are mistreated, our correspondent says.
When Mr Saakashvili swept to power after the Rose Revolution in 2004, he clamped down heavily on crime, and made the streets safe by locking up many of the criminals who had been running the former Soviet republic.
But his critics say Georgia has now swung to the other extreme, accusing his government of becoming authoritarian, our correspondent says.
The abuse video comes as Georgia is preparing for parliamentary elections on 1 October, seen as the biggest test facing the country's democracy since the revolution.
President Saakashvili's party faces a challenge from Georgia's richest man, Bidzina Ivanishvili, who has vowed to oust the government from power.
With a reputation for benevolence and philanthropy, Mr Ivanishvili is popular among many poorer voters who are struggling in modern Georgia's neo-liberal economy, correspondents say.
19 Sep, 2012
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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19646826#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
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