Georgia to put ex-PM and opposition figure on trial ahead of elections

TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgian prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation targeting former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia over a controversial 2019 security incident near the breakaway region of South Ossetia—a dramatic development ahead of the country’s October elections.

Gakharia currently leads one of the few opposition parties willing to take part in the local elections later this year.

The inquiry centers on his actions in office while he was Minister of Internal Affairs during the “Chorchana episode”, when Georgian police established a checkpoint near Russian-controled territory, prompting a standoff. Several former officials have already been summoned for questioning, and Gakharia himself is expected to appear again before a parliamentary commission on June 23.

If the probe moves to trial, it will be the first against a former member of government who is not from the National Movement (UNM) era. It springs out of information from testimony given to a parliamentary committee tasked with investigating UNM era government crimes which expanded its scope to also deal with newer events.

Gakharia rose to national prominence after the 2019 “Gavrilov’s Night” protests, when he condemned police violence against demonstrators while remaining in office. Seen as a stabilizing figure, he was appointed Prime Minister in 2020. But in 2021, he resigned in protest over the planned arrest of opposition leader Nika Melia, warning the move could spark unrest. He later founded his the political party For Georgia, which received 8% in last year’s election for parliament.