Igor Giorgadze.

TBILISI, DFWatch–Tbilisi Court of Appeals on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by former Georgian security chief and former KGB operative Igor Giorgadze against DFWatch and its editor Lasha Tughushi, in which he demanded a retraction of information published in a 2016 article.

The Court of Appeals fully agreed with and upheld an earlier decision by Tbilisi City Court.

The claimant, Igor Giorgadze, served as Minister of State Security in 1993-1995, until he fled to Russia in the wake of the failed assassination attempt on then President Eduard Shevardnadze, which Giorgadze was accused of having masterminded.

The latter has always denied any involvement and, in turn, accused the Shevardnadze government of political prosecution. 

Giorgadze, who lives in Russia, returned to the media spotlight on September 11, 2018, when he told reporters at a press conference in Moscow that he had evidence that the Richard Lugar Public Health Research Center near Tbilisi international airport has carried out dangerous experiments. Giorgadze claimed that US military and private contractors might be engaging in secret experiments on humans there.

This was followed by a barrage from Russia’s top officials, including President Vladimir Putin.

“I’m familiar with this statement by the former Minister of State Security of Georgia. Of course, it is alarming,” Putin said at Valdai Discussion Club on October 18.

“These developments, if real, are very dangerous,” he said.