Georgia’s State Security Service has detained former Defence Minister Bacho Akhalaia on charges of organizing the nationwide anti-government rally held last October.
Akhalaia, who served under former President Mikheil Saakashvili, is accused of organizing the 4 October rally that boycotted local elections and called for overthrow of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the ruling Georgia Dream party.
At a briefing on Friday, the State Security Service said the former defence minister’s detention stems from charges of illegal purchase and possession of weapons, ammunition, and explosives, alongside the October rally which was organized to boycott local elections. The agency did not rule out that this could be linked to an attempt to overthrow the government.
According to the State Security Service, Akhalaia and other suspects in organizing the October rally maintained active communication via mobile internet applications using an IP address registered to the former defence minister’s wife, Ani Nadareishvili who was briefly detained.
Authorities have focused especially on messages sent on the evening of 4 October, which the State Security Service says coincided with the start of a protest march on Freedom Square, clashes near the presidential residence, and the chanting of political slogans. The agency alleges that during this time Lasha Beridze was close to the presidential palace and was receiving instructions from Akhalaia.
The agency also claimed having an audio recording capturing a conversation between Bacho Akhalaia and Paata Burchuladze about overthrow of the government. The State Security Service claimed it possessed “unequivocal” evidence confirming that Bacho Akhalaia was the main organizer of 4 October rally.
Akhalaia’s wife, Ana Nadareishvili, described the statement by the Security Service as “complete nonsense” in an interview with Pirveli TV.
Once regarded a post-Soviet democracy, Georgia has experienced democratic backsliding in the past few years, with the pro-Russian Georgia Dream ruling party cracking down on opposition activists and dissidents.
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