TBILISI, March 10 – Georgian political analyst Gia Khukhashvili was summoned for questioning by the State Security Service (SSS) on Tuesday after making public comments about security risks connected to the crisis in the Middle East.
SSS told Interpressnews that Khukhashvili had been called in for questioning at 12:00 p.m., but did not say what the interview was specifically about. A short time later, the news agency reported that Khukhashvili had arrived at the agency’s office.
Before entering the building, Khukhashvili said he believed the summons could be connected to remarks he made a day earlier on Palitra News in the program 360 Degrees. In that TV appearance, he described the situation as very dangerous and said that, based on information from open sources that he considered convincing, there was a real risk of a series of terrorist attacks.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Khukhashvili said his remarks were being used to frighten the public and stop discussion of the issue. He said he had spoken about risks in the region, not specifically about attacks beginning in Georgia. He also referred to a statement by the Israeli Embassy and said he personally felt at risk as a person of Jewish origin. Khukhashvili said he was not afraid of being detained.
He further made references to the al-Mustafa school network, which is sanctioned by the U.S. for allegedly being involved in recruitment for Iran’s Quds force and was mentioned in a new report by the Hudson Institute. Khukhashvili made reference to some of the allegations surrounding the school’s activities and added that the security service itself knew about these issues better than he did.
A number of public figures have been questioned by the domestic intelligence service SSS the last few days, in an investigation based on suspicion of assisting hostile activity for a foreign country, foreign organization or an organization under foreign control.
