Mayor Kaladze: anyone deliberately harming national interests will be punished with full force of law

Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze on Sunday said all individuals who deliberately undermine Georgia’s national interests would face the full severity of the law.

His remarks came in a video address responding to the BBC’s recent investigative report, which alleged the use of the banned chemical agent Camite during protests in Tbilisi.

Kaladze said the State Security Service, responsible for safeguarding national stability and public safety, would not allow foreign intelligence agencies or their domestic “operatives” to destabilise the country.

“It is clear that Georgia is facing hybrid aggression aimed at damaging our stability and national interests,” Kaladze said.

The Mayor noted the BBC’s report contained multiple anti-state accusations, but the Camite allegation overshadowed the rest due to its sensitivity. He stressed that it is now proven “with irrefutable facts” that no such substance was used, adding that Camite does not physically exist in Georgia.

Kaladze also rejected the broadcaster’s claims of election fraud, noting that no evidence supports such accusations and highlighting that OSCE/ODIHR observers assessed the 2024 parliamentary elections as competitive and confirmed the ruling Georgian Dream party as the legitimate winner.

On the report’s depiction of violence during the protests, Kaladze said the public had witnessed “foreign-trained aggressive groups” attacking police, setting fire to part of the parliament building, and destroying public and private property in central Tbilisi.

He further criticised the BBC’s portrayal of businessman Giorgi Bachiashvili as a political victim, stressing that Georgian courts have already confirmed criminal charges against him in two instances, with additional cases still under way.

Kaladze claimed that the BBC ignored detailed answers provided to its inquiries, calling this evidence of “extreme bias” from the report’s authors.

He reiterated that investigative actions regarding the alleged use of Camite have been fully exhausted. However, the State Security Service will continue its probe into suspected assistance to a foreign organisation engaged in hostile activities against Georgia.

“The primary goal of this hybrid aggression is to shake our statehood, provoke unrest based on fabricated narratives, and ultimately damage Georgia’s national interests,” Kaladze said.

He highlighted that law enforcement agencies would respond decisively.

“All individuals or groups found to have deliberately and severely harmed Georgia’s national interests, its international image, or state security will be punished with the full force of the law.”

Kaladze concluded by stressing that Georgia’s state institutions will not allow any attempt, foreign or domestic, to undermine the country’s sovereignty or the interests of the Georgian people.