Security Service Summons Activists Amid “Trainings Plot” Allegations
On October 11 and 12, the State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) summoned Natalia Vatsadze, an actress, and Vakho Kareli, a photographer, in a follow-up to the so-called “training plot” allegations.
In a statement on October 2, SSSG said three Serbian trainers affiliated with the civil society organization CANVAS, were brought to Georgia to participate in a civil society engagement program funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and were actively recruiting activists with the intent of orchestrating the violent overthrow of Georgia’s lawfully elected government. CANVAS, the US Embassy, and the U.S. State Department have strongly denied the charge as “false” and “mischaracterizing the nature of assistance” by the United States government.
Both Vatsadze and Kareli participated in the training session by CANVAS.
Vatsadze wrote on her Facebook page on October 12 that she had been summoned for questioning by the SSSG and was refusing to comply. She said she attended alongside other arts professionals aiming to make the arts field more independent and effective.
Kareli’s questioning is scheduled for today.
Earlier this month SSSG took a deposition from CANVAS-Georgia director, Giorgi Meladze and trainer Nino Gogiberidze. Earlier, three Serbian citizens who served as CANVAS trainers: Siniša Šikman, Jelena Stojšić, and Slobodan Djinovic were questioned, and allowed to leave the country.
No official charges have been filed so far. SSSG treats the case as “classified” and the questioned individuals are asked to sign non-disclosure forms. The activists say the Security Services are making the procedure secret to mask the blatantly political nature of the allegations and the absence of proof required for the criminal case.
Read also:
- 04/10/2023 – U.S. State Department: Plot Allegations Mischaracterize the Goals of US Assistance to Georgia
- 02/10/2023 – U.S. Embassy: Plot Allegations “False”
- 02/10/2023 – GD Officials React to SSSG’s Claims of USAID-Funded Trainers Plotting Unrest in Georgia
- 02/10/2023 – Opposition MPs Skeptical About Security Services Claims of “Plot”
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
