Gakharia in Prosecution Crosshairs Over 2019 Chorchana Tensions

The Georgian Prosecutor’s Office said it is probing the actions of Giorgi Gakharia, ex-interior minister and ex-prime minister now leading the opposition For Georgia party, over the 2019 episode, when the Ministry of Interior placed a police checkpoint at the Tskhinvali occupation line near the village of Chorchana.

Vakhtang Gomelauri, who replaced Gakharia as interior minister in 2019, testified to the prosecution on June 14. Gomelauri announced his resignation two weeks ago.

In a statement released on June 14, the Prosecutor’s Office said it studied “the action carried out by former Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia on August 24, 2019, near Chorchana village alongside the occupation line,” along with other issues as part of a broader “sabotage” investigation. The statement reads that Gomelauri, who was serving as the head of the State Security Service at the time, was summoned as a witness.

The opening of the police checkpoint near Chorchana village of Khashuri municipality, adjacent to the occupation line, led to a flare-up of tensions in August 2019 with de facto authorities in Tskhinvali, who demanded that the checkpoint be dismantled. This was a rare moment under the Georgian Dream administration when police services overtly resisted the demands from Russia-backed Tskhinvali.

While Georgian Dream endorsed Gakharia as prime minister on September 3, 2019, a week after the the disputed incident, the issue was brought up and held against Gakharia during the sitting of the Tsulukiani Commission – the investigative commission in Georgian Dream’s one-party parliament probing into alleged crimes under United National Movement (UNM) rule (2003-2012). Gakharia appeared following the summonses of the commission in contrast with other opposition leaders, like Zurab Japaridze and Nika Gvaramia, who got jail sentences for refusing to pay bail over boycotting the commission.

As Gakharia was testifying to the Tsulukiani Commission in April, Georgian Dream MPs insisted that while opening the checkpoint, Gakharia did not coordinate with other officials, including the State Security Service led by Gomelauri. They argued that the move backfired by prompting Tskhinvali to open additional checkpoints on the other side of the occupation line and to further push the occupation line into the territory controlled by Tbilisi.

Gakharia argued in response that officials were aware of the plan and the move was meant to check the attempt by then-de facto leader of occupied Tskhinvali, Anatoly Bibilov, to seize a significant area of Georgian-controlled territory of Chorchana. The ex-PM said Bibilov was using the topic for the ongoing election campaign by claiming the land belonged to the occupied region of South Ossetia based on what Gakharia called a “fake map from 1922.” 

“Of course I was against [opening a checkpoint], of course it should not have been done,” Gomelauri told reporters upon arriving for questioning on June 14.

Sprawling investigation?

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the probe is a part of a criminal investigation into “sabotage, sabotage attempt under aggravating circumstances, assistance to a foreign organisation or an organisation controlled by a foreign state in hostile activities, and mobilizing funds for activities directed against the constitutional order and national security principles of Georgia.” The wording appears to point to the investigation, opened by Georgian prosecutors in February, that earlier led to freezing solidarity funds used to pay the police fines for detained protesters. Homes of managers of these funds were raided as part of the probe.

Tinatin Bokuchava, leader of the opposition United National Movement party, linked the new probe with Georgian Dream’s attempt to pressure Gakharia into taking part in the upcoming local elections. “The real reason behind summoning Gomelauri is making it very clear to Gakharia the choice he has: either going to prison, or participating in a special operation called ‘local elections’, “Bokuchava wrote on Facebook on June 14.

UNM is among the parties that have vowed to boycott the October municipal elections. Gakharia’s For Georgia, however, has been leaning towards participation. On June 9, Bokuchava claimed her husband was abducted and forced to record a video apology over his 2018 claims about the sexual orientation of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s son, the claim that GD denies. Bokuchava’s party colleague, Ana Tsitlidze, implied that this abduction aimed to pressure UNM into participating in the local elections.

• 13/06/2025 – Court Sends Third Opposition Leader, Nika Gvaramia, to Detention Over Boycotting GD Commission
• 01/09/2019 – Chorchana Checkpoint Escalation: an Incident or a Trend?

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