TBILISI, DFWatch–Former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has been summoned a second time to testify before Georgia’s parliamentary investigative commission.
The commission is examining decisions surrounding the establishment of a Georgian police outpost near the village of Chorchana in 2019, close to the administrative boundary line with the Russian-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia.
According to Tea Tsulukiani, the commission’s chair and a senior member of the ruling Georgian Dream party, the renewed summons follows conflicting testimonies and the emergence of new details. A local resident from the nearby village of Tsagvli reportedly stated that forested land was lost due to increased Russian control, allegedly as a consequence of the outpost’s placement—contradicting earlier official explanations.
At his second appearance before the commission on 23 June, Gakharia will also be questioned about his political and international activities from 2021 onward, the period after he resigned as Prime Minister and launched his opposition party, “For Georgia.”
While Georgian Dream officials frame the inquiry as a matter of accountability, opposition groups claim it is politically motivated. Gakharia previously appeared before the commission earlier this year and has not indicated whether he will comply with the latest summons.
The special investigative commission was put together to investigate the government crimes under the United National Movement (2004-2012), but its scope was expanded to cover also more recent events.
(This article has been updated.)
Leave A Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.