18 Respirators, 20 Goggles: TV Imedi’s ‘Exclusives’ Air CSOs’ Spending in ‘Sabotage’ Probe
The pro–Georgian Dream TV channel Imedi reported on transactions of civil society organizations whose bank accounts were recently frozen in a “sabotage” probe, portraying as a scandal what appeared to be modest purchases of protective equipment, such as medical masks, goggles, and first aid items, during the November–December 2024 protests.
For example, Imedi said Georgia’s Democratic Initiative, one of the affected CSOs, spent GEL 3,200 (about USD 1,200) on goggles, raincoats, and masks, while the Social Justice Center’s spending “exceeded GEL 2,000” (about USD 750) on goggles, first-aid items, and pepper spray.
It added that the Civil Society Foundation paid “more than GEL 1,200” (about USD 450) for gear, and Democracy Defenders spent “about GEL 500” on medical masks. “The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information, too, buys facemasks,” the journalist said in the report, which presented procurement documents Imedi claimed to have “exclusively obtained.”
In a separate report, TV Imedi also reported 18 respirators and 20 goggles purchased for more than GEL 1,200 (USD 450) by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) in May 2024, during the spring protests against the reintroduction of the Foreign Agents Law. The report aired what looked like purchase documents, and noted that the CSO head, Levan Natroshvili, “had to confirm” and admit the purchase following the account freeze.
Imedi said the mentioned reports are “part of the evidence” in the prosecution’s case files of the ongoing “sabotage” probe, under which the Prosecutor’s Office said on August 27 it requested to freeze bank accounts of seven CSOs, claiming their funds were used to equip protesters “who committed violent acts against law enforcement” during rallies.
The Office cited spending on items such as special gas helmets, protective goggles, medical masks, face-covering masks, and pepper spray. The prosecutors further pointed out that the organizational expenses were used on “financial patronage” of those ” involved in violent acts” and their family members, including by “paying fines, covering legal defense costs, and addressing other personal and organizational matters.”
The investigation is proceeding under several criminal charges, including “sabotage, attempted sabotage under aggravated circumstances, assisting a foreign organization or an organization under foreign influence in hostile activities, and financing actions against Georgia’s constitutional order and national security.” The charges carry harsh penalties ranging from seven years to life in prison.
“They are trumping up a sabotage case and couldn’t find anything except ethanol and bandages, because there isn’t any,” Lina Ghbinianidze, ex-head of the Social Justice Center, commented on Facebook on Imedi’s piece. “That ethanol and bandage, too, are needed to work in the field, and that’s called protecting the work safety of employees, not sabotage.”
“So, according to you, I had to ‘admit’ to buying 18 respirators and 20 goggles?” Levan Natroshvili of ISFED said in a Facebook post in reaction to TV Imedi’s report. “What is there to admit? Is that a crime, and must I be punished with life in prison?”
It appears to be the “sabotage” probe launched in February following a request by United Neutral Georgia, a hardline group aligned with Georgian Dream. In March, authorities froze solidarity funds that had supported protesters by covering fines for road blockages, and in April, investigators searched the homes of several fund managers. Ex-Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia is also facing an investigation under possibly the same “sabotage” probe over his 2019 decision to erect a checkpoint near the Tskhinvali occupational line.
The freezing of CSOs’ bank accounts follows separate inspection requests by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in August targeting several of the groups under Georgian Dream’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and another series of inspections against largely the same groups under three different laws in June.
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