Georgian President condemns State Security Service statement as ‘psychological terror’

President Salome Zourabichvili criticized a statement issued by the State Security Service (SSS) on December 10, calling it an act of “psychological terror” against peaceful protesters. Speaking at a media award ceremony at the Orbeliani Palace, she addressed the claims made by the SSS about alleged plans for orchestrated violence during the ongoing pro-European protests in Tbilisi.

“The SSS statement today should be considered a violation of human rights. This narrative of ‘scenarios’ involving ‘victims’ is a direct act of psychological terror against citizens during peaceful protests. Yesterday’s events clearly showed that when there are no provocateurs or instigators, protests proceed calmly without incident,” Zourabichvili said.

The SSS claimed that plans are underway to escalate tensions during protests this week, alleging that “2-3 casualties” would be staged to provoke unrest and fuel anti-government sentiment. The agency suggested that these actions would be designed to undermine the presidential elections scheduled for December 14 and falsely accuse the government.

This is not the first time the SSS has made such allegations. On November 30, during the early days of the protests, the agency issued a similar statement, asserting that the demonstrations were part of a broader plot to overthrow the government by force.