GD Investigative Commission summons opposition UNM’s Zurab Chiaberashvili

The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party’s investigative commission has summoned Zurab Chiaberashvili, the Foreign Secretary of the opposition United National Movement (UNM), for questioning. The move sparked criticism from UNM leaders, who claim the commission is politically motivated.

UNM Chairperson Tina Bokuchava condemned the decision, calling it an attack on political opponents. “The first politician summoned by Ivanishvili’s Russian-style commission is, of course, from the United National Movement—our party’s Foreign Secretary, Zurab Chiaberashvili, with whom I had the honor of working in Geneva back in 2010,” she wrote on social media. Bokuchava described Chiaberashvili as a dedicated and hardworking public servant who already faced politically motivated imprisonment in 2013 and is now under renewed threat for refusing to cooperate with the commission.

She further criticized the commission’s objectives, accusing it of attempting to rewrite history and distort the UNM government’s legacy by portraying former President Mikheil Saakashvili as a national traitor. According to her, GD seeks to shift public attention away from ongoing protests and key national issues.

Georgian Dream proposed the Temporary Investigative Commission on January 9, 2025, to probe alleged crimes committed under the UNM government. GD Executive Secretary Mamuka Mdinaradze stated that the commission’s scope includes cases of prisoner torture, political violence, business intimidation, media takeovers, and accusations related to the August 2008 war with Russia.

The commission was formally established on February 5 with an 83-member majority vote and is set to operate for three months. The eight-member body is chaired by former Justice Minister Tea Tsulukiani and includes five representatives from Georgian Dream. The opposition quota is filled by members of the People’s Power and European Socialists parties.

The commission aligns with Georgian Dream’s long-standing pledge to ban the UNM and deliver a strict political and legal verdict against it.