Former Georgian Interior Minister Remains in Absentia Arrest
The Tbilisi City Court upheld the pretrial detention in absentia for Giorgi Gakharia, leader of the "Gakharia for Georgia!" party and former Interior Minister.
At the hearing, the parties' motions to add evidence to the case file on the dispersal of the June 20, 2019, rally were heard. The defense's arguments regarding public statements by the founder of the ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, and other government officials were not included in the case, unlike the evidence presented by the prosecution.
As a reminder, the Georgian Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal case against Giorgi Gakharia regarding the suppression of a protest on June 20-21, 2019, near the parliament building in Tbilisi and the establishment of a checkpoint in the village of Chorchana. Regarding the first incident, the defendant is accused of abuse of office and intentionally causing grievous bodily harm to more than two people.
According to investigators, on the night of June 21, 2019, when a protest outside parliament escalated into clashes, the then-Minister of Internal Affairs ordered the use of special forces without warning or allowing peaceful participants to leave the area. As a result, dozens of citizens were injured, two lost an eye, and five suffered grievous bodily harm. The actions charged against the politician carry a prison sentence of up to 13 years.
