Opinion: 'Question of Georgia’s use of chemical weapons should should be subject to international investigation'
In an interview with the British outlet BBC, Giorgi Rukhadze, founder of the Centre for Strategic Analysis, said the question of whether the Georgian government used chemical agents to disperse protesters in 2024 is likely to become the subject of an international investigation — and that, if confirmed, those responsible will face direct accountability.
According to Rukhadze, the ruling Georgian Dream party “was prepared to poison everyone if that was what it took to save itself.”
On 1 December, the BBC published an investigation claiming that, according to its evidence, Georgian authorities used camite — a First World War–era chemical weapon — to suppress anti-government protests in November 2024.
Former Georgian interior minister Vakhtang Gomelauri told Imedi TV that the substance in question was acquired under the previous government in 2009–2010 and was used until 2012, when the Georgian Dream party came to power.
Acting interior minister Geka Geladze, meanwhile, denied Gomelauri’s claims, saying he had personally reviewed all procurement documents and “with full responsibility” stated that the Georgian Interior Ministry has never acquired the substance.
Giorgi Rukhadze: “Once the genie is out of the bottle, you can’t put it back. Of course, we all suspected something very bad was happening, because I personally wondered why, after the November protests, I couldn’t sleep properly for so long, why I had headaches… and for a week there was a pungent smell around Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi and its surroundings.
Exactly what substance was used, whether it was chemical weapons, and what the consequences will be — all of this should be the subject of an international investigation. But one thing is clear: this regime was ready to poison everyone — not just the protesters, but anyone living nearby, studying in the area, their supporters, their opponents… anything to save itself.”
And the Georgian Dream’s attempts to paint the BBC as liars are simply laughable.
If I were prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze, I wouldn’t be waving my fists — I would just publish the composition of the substance added to the water cannons used during the protests. If no law was broken, what is there to hide?
This will be the subject of an international investigation, and if confirmed, we are dealing with the use of banned chemical weapons against the country’s own people. Vakhtang Gomelauri would bear direct responsibility, because under Georgian law, the decision to use chemical or other agents during special operations rests with the interior minister or their deputy.
On Georgian Dream’s use of chemical weapons
