Georgian Technical University Rector Seeks Seizure of University of Georgia Property

Davit Gurgenidze, Rector of Georgian Technical University, has appealed to the Prosecutor’s Office to seize property belonging to the University of Georgia, a private institution founded by Giuli Alasania, mother of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, alleging illegal transfer under the previous administration.

The appeal comes amid ongoing hostile rhetoric by Georgian Dream officials toward the university and growing concerns that the ruling party may be seeking to curtail academic freedom. Gurgenidze alleges that the Saakashvili family illegally acquired the property from the Technical University, a claim echoed in a recent report by the Georgian Dream parliamentary commission.

“As you know, during the previous government, a large part of the property of the Georgian Technical University was, in fact, seized by the family of the former president,” Gurgenidze told journalists on October 17. “There is suspicion that this may have constituted a criminal offense,” he added, calling for the property to be “immediately seized and subsequently returned” to the university.

Gurgenidze said the Technical University received “not a single penny” from the transfer. “Whether [Giuli Alasania] paid anything into the state budget is already a matter for the Prosecutor General’s Office to investigate,” he said, calling for “expert examination to determine the profits the university failed to receive over many years, so those losses can be reimbursed to the university, the youth, and the professors.”

The Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze weighed in at an October 17 briefing, calling the alleged transfer “an act of outright insolence.”

“Specific infrastructure of the Georgian Technical University was transferred for 1 Lari to a member of the president’s family, which is an act of outright insolence,” Kobakhidze said. “It will be interesting to examine this matter. Let us wait for the response of the relevant authorities.”

The allegations appear in the 470-page report released in September by the GD’s controversial parliamentary commission investigating crimes of former officials, known as the Tsulukiani Commission. The report claims that “Mikheil Saakashvili, at the expense of the state, helped his mother, Giuli Alasania, establish a large business in the education sector.”

As stated in Tsulukiani’s report, Giuli Alasania and her university were acquiring the properties – including buildings and adjacent land plots – through auctions, with the document claiming “she was the sole participant in those auctions and personally became the owner of the state property,” while the payments – worth millions of US Dollars – were made by businessmen who were either intimidated by or affiliated with the United National Movement.

Gurgenidze’s move to seek the seizure of UG’s property follows prolonged pressure from GD authorities and pro-government media, which have repeatedly accused the university and its affiliated groups of “brainwashing” youth and supporting revolutionary activities. The appeal comes just one day after Kobakhidze unveiled the higher education reform concept, heightening concerns about potential repression and further restrictions on academic freedom.

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