Georgia’s prosecution launches criminal case against former PM Giorgi Gakharia
Criminal case against Gakharia
Georgia’s prosecution has opened a criminal case against former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia. According to the authorities, the case relates to the so-called “Chorchan” episode and events on 20–21 June 2019.
Speaking about the case, Prosecutor General Giorgi Gvarakadze said it “concerns the organisation of intentional infliction of serious bodily harm on more than two people during a protest in front of the parliament building, as well as abuse of official powers by a public official.”
Gakharia is currently living in exile.
What prosecution says
“The case concerns the well-known episodes of 20–21 June 2019 in Chorchan, specifically the intentional infliction of serious bodily harm on more than two people during a protest in front of the Parliament building, as well as abuse of official powers by a public official holding a political office.
We remind that on 7 May 2024, the European Court of Human Rights issued a ruling on the so-called 20 June case, finding a procedural violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights in connection with the events of 20–21 June 2019 in Tbilisi. The Court instructed the state to carry out certain investigative actions and recommended assessing the actions of those responsible for planning and conducting the event.
Following this, a series of investigative actions were conducted, including investigative experiments involving the victims, interviews with hundreds of witnesses, and over a hundred expert examinations of various types. As a result of the investigation, the guilt of a specific individual — Giorgi Gakharia — was established, which is summarised as follows:
On the evening of 20 June 2019, an initially peaceful demonstration on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi escalated into violent actions. Some protesters attempted to forcefully enter the Parliament building. They used violence against law enforcement officers in front of the Parliament, attacking them and damaging or destroying their property.
The then-Minister of Internal Affairs, Giorgi Gakharia, ignoring instructions and legislation, ordered the Special Operations Department officers to use special means simultaneously and collectively, disregarding the instructions and legal requirements — without warning and without giving peaceful protesters the opportunity to leave the area. By doing so, he organised actions that resulted in the intentional infliction of harm to citizens.
As a result of the use of special means, including rubber bullets, dozens of citizens sustained injuries of varying severity, including two citizens losing an eye and five citizens suffering serious bodily harm.”
“As for the second episode of the charges, the investigation found that on 24 August 2019, the then-Minister of Internal Affairs, Giorgi Gakharia — who was also Secretary and permanent member of the National Security Council — unilaterally decided to set up an additional police checkpoint along the occupation line near the village of Chorchan. He did so ignoring the Council’s authority, without coordinating his actions with the Prime Minister of Georgia, without consulting the State Security Service of Georgia, and without informing the European Union Observer Mission.
This action was widely covered in the media at Gakharia’s initiative and with his involvement. As expected, representatives of the occupation regime used these actions as a pretext for measures against Georgia’s territorial integrity. In particular, on 5 September 2019, illegal armed formations of the de facto Tskhinvali regime took control of heights within territory under Georgian government control.
Around 100 hectares of forest came under the control of occupation forces. Various unlawful actions took place, including the movement of heavy military equipment toward populated areas, creating a real risk of armed clashes between the sides. Residential homes in the villages of Obi and Tsnilisi in the Khashuri municipality were also located in the occupied area.
By these actions, Giorgi Gakharia deliberately exceeded his official powers, causing significant violations of the lawful interests of society and the state.
Gakharia has been charged under Articles 25, 117, Part 3, subparagraph “m”, and 333, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which carry a maximum prison sentence of up to 13 years.
The prosecution will, within the legally established period, apply to the Tbilisi City Court for a pre-trial measure of detention for the accused.
The investigation into the criminal case is ongoing,” Gvarakadze said.
Notably, on 20 October this year, Gakharia’s party, For Georgia, decided to exercise its parliamentary and municipal mandates.
The party failed to win any seats in the Tbilisi City Council in the 2025 local elections. According to the Central Election Commission, For Georgia currently holds 26 seats across municipal councils nationwide.
On 28 October, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili named the parties whose ban the ruling Georgian Dream party intends to pursue through the Constitutional Court. Georgian Dream is seeking to declare three opposition parties unconstitutional — the United National Movement, the Coalition for Change, and Strong Georgia — Lelo.
Papuashvili explained that the case would not affect For Georgia, as the main legal basis would be election sabotage. Since the party retained its mandates and resumed parliamentary activity, he said, this argument is no longer relevant.
Criminal case against Gakharia
