A British bar manager who was imprisoned and tortured for 12 days for allegedly “breaking in” to Georgia’s parliament during anti-Government protests last year, has been prevented from leaving the country by border officials. Daniel Travis, 28, told the Daily Express he fears being detained again if he is unable to leave Georgia before his visa runs out in September.
The Liverpudlian barman, who had lived in London for 13 years prior to travelling to Tbilisi last September, revealed that he was relentlessly followed by pro-Putin state authorities for weeks after being released from prison in December, and has effectively put on a “no-fly list” meaning he cannot not leave the country.
Explaining how he was prevented from boarding his Tbilisi to Luton flight days after his release from prison, he said: “I put all my bags through security, they scanned everything, everything was okay. I went to the [passport] control to get my stamp to leave and that’s when they said that I couldn’t leave.
“They said ‘you need to go and sort your issue out’ and I was like ‘what issue?’, and they were like ‘here’s the number, call this number’.” The number, Mr Travis said, belonged to a police officer that would stop him every time he left his Tbilisi residence and demand his passport. “He said that I needed to pay him 1000 lari [£275]”, Mr Travis said, “I went to the police station, I paid 1000 lari – they didn’t give me a receipt. I don’t know if he’s taken that for himself. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”
After paying the officer, Mr Travis thought “the case is closed” and attempted once again to leave this country. This time, he attempted to cross the Georgian border by bus into Turkey with the intention of meeting friends in Istanbul. He told this website that he boarded a bus from Batumi, near the Georgian-Turkish border, but was prevented from making the crossing.
Explaining the ordeal, he said: “When I get to get to the border [I was stopped]. Everyone was waiting in line and they said that I couldn’t pass the border.
“They did the same [as in Tbilisi]. They called somebody and they said ‘you need to contact this person, you need to go to this police station and sort your issues out’.” On this occasion, Mr Travis claimed, he was asked to pay 3000 lari, equivalent to £840, but refused because he believed he was being “scammed”.
“I just refused, I went back to Batumi and I’ve not been in touch with the police officer now because I don’t know if he’s trying to scam me. I’ve been speaking with the [British] embassy now they’re trying to deal with it as well”, he added.
Mr Travis’ misery has coincided with violent protests in Georgia. The Black Sea state, which has been partially occupied by Russia since 2008, erupted in protests last year following the pro-Putin government’s decision to freeze European Union accession talks until 2028. Mass demonstrations also took place in opposition to October’s contested parliamentary elections, won by the Kremlin-sympathetic Georgian Dream party. Since then, the country also has a new president: Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former Manchester City footballer-turned-pro-Russian politician.
The parliamentary elections were condemned in Western capitals and involved “vote buying and voter intimidation”, according to then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. According to opposition voices, protests have taken place for more than 120 continuous days.
As the demonstrations raged in late November 2024, Mr Travis was arrested by “masked police officers”, accused of being a “foreign instructor”, a “spy”, and of “breaking in” to the country’s parliament building.
“I literally was walking out of a bar and I got arrested by the Georgian police, and I didn’t know what the hell was happening,” he told Daily Express in December.
“They literally brought me inside the parliament building where I was then interviewed by the pro-Russian propaganda media.
“They tried to make out that I broke into the parliament building, which is a load of bull because it’s impossible to break into any parliament building, especially in Georgia because there was so many police outside.”
He said that what followed after being detained was brutal. “I was beaten inside the parliament”, he said. “They beat me on the side of my hip, all over my arms, they didn’t beat me by the eyes because they know if they beat me by the eyes then it would be on the media. They are thugs, they are absolute thugs.”
As well as physical violence, Mr Travis claimed “wasn’t fed for three days” inside Tbilisi prison, and that the “disgusting” facility was infested with “cockroaches”. He added: “I feared for my life”. Khatia Dekanoidze, an opposition MP in Georgia for the United National Movement, said that she spoke with Mr Travis after his release and confirmed he had been “severely beaten”.
His ordeal didn’t end when he his stint behind bars finished. “When I was released from prison I was followed for about three weeks by one certain car”, he said. “It would follow me everywhere I went. As soon as I left the house they would follow me. It was really bad, really bad.”
Claiming that he is still sporting the bruises from the beating he took whilst in detention, Mr Travis fears that if he is unable to leave Georgia before his visa runs out on September 22 this year, he may be imprisoned and beaten all over again.
“I don’t know what they [the police] could do. They could do anything. I do fear this [prison], because I don’t want to be put in prison again.
“If they want to arrest me, they could. They already have. They pick up people to get money and stuff like this.”
“I still have bruises now from when they beat me up the first time. I’m scared of the police here”, he added.
Georgian opposition MP Khatia Dekanoidze from the United National Movement did not rule out Daniel being re-arrested and detained if he outstays his visa: “Everything could happen, everything. We are in a very terrible situation under the regime”.
She added that pro-democracy demonstrators continue to take to the symbolic street of Rustaveli Avenue, which leads to the country’s parliament, despite the state’s authoritarian turn. “The repression is tremendous”, she said. “They [the police] are fining [protesters] 5000 lari (£1380). I mean this is very disgusting. 54 people are still in prison, mostly students – they committed no crime.”
Mr Travis’ MP, Meg Hillier, who represents Hackney South and Shoreditch said: “I’m concerned about the incredibly difficult situation that Mr Travis is in and I’m in touch with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.”
A Foreign Office Spokesperson said: “We are supporting a British man in Georgia and are in contact with the local authorities.”