One of Georgia’s opposition leaders, Giorgi Baramidze, detained on 'treason and sabotage' charges
Opposition figure Baramidze arrested in Georgia
Giorgi Baramidze, one of the leaders of the opposition United National Movement and Georgian former defence and interior minister, has been detained in Georgia.
Prosecutors searched his home before handcuffing him.
The detention stems from an interview Baramidze gave on the programme “Birth of Georgia”, in which he said that at the beginning of the 1992–93 Georgian-Abkhaz war, the Georgian side had no prisoners of war because they were “shot”.
On 7 August, the prosecutor’s office said it had opened an investigation into “treason against the state and sabotage” over the statement.
As of today, five former Georgian defence ministers are (!) in prison, while a sixth is facing criminal charges.
Giorgi Baramidze is now the seventh on the list.
What the prosecutor’s office says
Deputy Prosecutor General Amiran Guluashvili confirmed that Giorgi Baramidze was detained on charges of treason against the state, specifically sabotage. The charge carries a prison sentence of up to four years.
The prosecutor’s office says its investigation found no evidence that prisoners of war were executed by Georgian armed forces or other participants in the conflict. It therefore described Baramidze’s claim as “baseless and fabricated” and said it was part of a targeted information campaign.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Baramidze’s statement could damage Georgia’s international image, the reputation of its defence forces and the dignity of those who took part in the war. It could also undermine efforts to reconcile with communities affected by the conflict and rebuild trust.
The prosecutor’s office says Baramidze’s remarks harmed Georgia’s peace and de-occupation policy and obstructed the work of state agencies, including the Office of the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, which is working to restore trust and cooperation.
The prosecutor’s office will ask the court to remand Baramidze in custody. The investigation is ongoing.
What Giorgi Baramidze said
During the programme “Birth of Georgia”, Giorgi Baramidze recalled the exchange of prisoners during the Georgian-Abkhaz war and said: “We had no prisoners. Our side did not take prisoners — they were shot.”
Baramidze’s statement drew a strong reaction from government officials. He later explained several times what he had meant.
He said he was referring to the very beginning of the war, when the Georgian side still had no regular, organised army and some fighters, driven by grief after losing loved ones in the fighting, sometimes did not take enemy combatants prisoner.
“During the first period, this was the situation: people whose mothers, fathers or other loved ones had been killed were so consumed by anger that they did not take prisoners during fighting and killed them instead. They had been driven to despair. This is the bitter truth about the early stage of the war, which I know because I was personally involved in prisoner exchanges,” Baramidze explained.
He said the situation later changed, with the Georgian side beginning to take prisoners, making prisoner exchanges possible.
Baramidze also says he was personally involved in the process, which ultimately helped secure the return of around 200 Georgian prisoners.
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