Former MoD Employee Accuses MIA Officials of Pressuring Him to Incriminate Opposition

In a report by TV Pirveli, alarming details have emerged of psychological and physical abuse allegedly inflicted by officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) on Giorgi Kukhaleishvili, a Ministry of Defense former employee and reserve sergeant of the Georgian armed forces. Kukhaleishvili, who is the 2008 August war veteran, says that MIA officials tried to force him to make false statements about an attack on TV Pirveli journalist Maka Chikhladze and cameraman Giorgi Shetsiruli and blame the attack on the opposition.

According to Kukhaleishvili, the MIA demanded that he take responsibility for the attack on Chikhladze and Shetsiruli and to falsely claim that the attack had been organized by rally participants during the protests.

TV Pirveli’s journalist Maka Chikhladze and cameraman Giorgi Shetsiruli were violently attacked by the so-called “men in black” on December 8 during the pro-European protests. Disturbing footage aired by TV Pirveli showed Chikhladze being thrown to the ground and Shetsiruli being brutally kicked, including in the head, by multiple assailants in masks. The perpetrators also stole the journalists’ equipment, which was never returned.

“They told me, to just detract the opposition parties and say that they [opposition parties] are receiving weapons” Kukhaleishvili recalled in TV Pirveli’s account of the encounter with MIA officials.

According to Kukhaleishvili on December 11, as he was returning from a protest on Rustaveli Avenue. He was reportedly abducted by four masked individuals, forced into a car, and taken to a police parking lot on Tabukashvili Street. Once there, Kukhaleishvili was allegedly subjected to both psychological and physical abuse. He said that these masked individuals took photographs of him, verbally assaulted him, and continued to apply psychological pressure. His photos were later sent to a contact, who forwarded them to Ioseb Sigua, Head of the Detectives Division in the city police department. Kukhaleishvili alleged that Sigua and other policemen, including Kakha Muradashvili, the deputy chief of city police, continued to pressure him to confess to the attacks on Chikhladze and Shetsiruli.

Kukhaleishvili was under pressure to declare that the government-paid thugs, the so-called “titushky,” were not involved in the attack, and to blame the opposition instead. Kukhaleishvili said he refused to comply, therefore he was arrested on administrative charges of disobeying a lawful order, and later remanded in custody for seven days by order of Tbilisi City Court Judge Lela Mildenberger. After his release, Kukhaleishvili claimed that his personal belongings, including his mobile phone, had not been returned to him.

His lawyer accused the MIA of illegally retaining his phone, which had been used to post content on his social media accounts, although Kukhaleishvili did not have access to it. Kukhaleishvili’s lawyer argued that MIA’s failure to return his phone violated his rights and that there was no official record, such as a criminal case number or decision, to justify the seizure.

Kukhaleishvili, who has since fled Georgia due to fears of further repressive actions against him and his family, remains outspoken about the mistreatment he says he endured. However, no police officer or individual involved in the mistreatment has been investigated.

This is not the first time that a detained protester claims that he was pressured to incriminate opposition representatives by authorities. Revaz Kiknadze, an activist detained on December 6, 2024 for taking part in pro-EU demonstrations, handed over a letter from the detention center stating that he was being pressured to testify in court that he had received money and orders from opposition politicians. Kiknadze had declared a hunger strike in protest at the pressure.

Also Read:

• 30/12/2024 – TI Georgia Reports Alarming Increase in Violence Against Media in 2024
• 08/12/2024 – Brutal Attack on Opposition Members and TV Pirveli Crew as Repression Intensifies
• 06/12/2024 – Detained Activist Says He’s Been Coerced to Incriminate Opposition Leaders, Declares Hunger Strike

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