TBILISI, February 20 – A Tbilisi court has upheld a pre-trial detention measure against exiled former Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia in a case linked to events near the village of Chorchana along the occupation line with breakaway South Ossetia.
The decision was delivered on Thursday by Tbilisi City Court during a pre-trial hearing. The ruling accepted the prosecution’s request to keep the detention measure in force. The case will now proceed to substantive consideration.
According to prosecutors, Gakharia, while serving as interior minister in 2019, made a unilateral decision to establish an additional police checkpoint near Chorchana, close to the administrative boundary line with South Ossetia. The prosecution argues that representatives of the Tskhinvali de facto authorities used that move as a pretext for further actions against Georgia’s territorial integrity.
They state that on September 5, 2019, armed formations of the Tskhinvali de facto regime occupied heights in territory controlled by the Georgian government. Prosecutors say approximately 100 hectares of forest came under the control of occupying forces and that military equipment was moved toward populated areas, creating what they describe as a real risk of armed confrontation.
Gakharia has been charged under articles of Georgia’s Criminal Code which carry a possible sentence of up to 13 years in prison. He is also facing separate criminal proceedings related to the violent dispersal of protesters in Tbilisi June 20, 2019, dubbed ‘the Gavrilov Night.’
His defense team argues the case is politically motivated. Lawyer Berdia Sichinava told reporters that the prosecution relied in part on material from a media outlet linked to the Tskhinvali de facto authorities and asked the court to terminate the criminal prosecution. The court rejected that motion.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze criticized Gakharia and his party, saying their actions are unserious and claiming that the party leader is in Germany to avoid possible legal responsibility.
