The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) announced details of another “planned” destabilisation attempt in Georgia on 18 September 2023. The statement reads that “a violent plan to overthrow the Georgian government is being orchestrated in Ukraine under the leadership of Giorgi Lortkipanidze, the former deputy of ex-Minister of Internal Affairs, Vano Merabishvili.”
The Georgian public has been repeatedly informed about plans targeting the constitutional order and security foundations of the country under the current government. In particular, state authorities and politicians have often accused the opposition and, at times, international actors of engaging in activities related to “conspiracy or rebellion intended to change the constitutional order of Georgia through violence” (refer to Article 315 of the Criminal Code of Georgia). Despite these accusations, the information regarding the legal proceedings of these cases remains mostly unknown to the public.
FactCheck investigated several of the aforementioned cases of “attempts to overthrow the government” and their procedural history.
2014: The so-called “tire revolution” case
An interview with the Primetime newspaper, then Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Aleksandre Tchikaidze, stated that the United National Movement political party was orchestrating a “Euromaidan scenario,” supplying tires for the revolution on 7 April 2014. Later, Tchikaidze further noted that mobile groups consisting of minorities would be part of the destabilisation plan by creating provocative, force majeure situations on 10 September.
Members of the Georgian Dream and the subsequent Minister of Internal Affairs, Vakhtang Gomelauri, further backed Tchikaidze’s statements. Moreover, Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili pledged to “punish all potential criminals and perpetrators.”
An investigation into this case was conducted under Article 315 of the Criminal Code (conspiracy or rebellion intended to change the constitutional order of Georgia through violence). Whilst the former deputy of the then Minister of Internal Affairs, Levan Izoria, asserted that the outcome of the investigation “would definitely be announced to the public,” the details of the legal proceedings – specifically, the current stage of the investigation, whether it is ongoing or concluded – remain unknown.
2015-2017: Conspiracies to take over the government
Alleged plans to overthrow the government through anti-constitutional measures were communicated to the public in 2015 and 2016 as well.
The SSSG commenced an investigation under Article 315 of the Criminal Code, which targets conspiracy or rebellion aimed at violently altering the constitutional order of the country in November 2015. These proceedings were based on the materials published in the Ukrainian media. These materials included a shorthand record of a conversation between Nika Gvaramia and Mikheil Saakashvili as well as a “transcript between Saakashvili and Bokeria.” The former president and then governor of Odesa, Mikheil Saakashvili, was discussing the necessity of protecting Rustavi 2 TV by placing barricades, urging Giga Bokeria and Nika Gvaramia to act according to a “revolutionary scenario” as per the aforementioned materials.
Notably, the SSSG has been investigating this case since October 2015, summoning Gvaramia and Bokeria to review the case materials in 2017, two years after the investigation began and just before the local self-government elections.
State authorities have not disclosed any further details to the public regarding this investigation since 2017.
The SSSG began an investigation into another conspiracy case which was prompted by an illegal audio recording distributed on YouTube in 2016.
Although the SSSG summoned several members of the United National Movement for questioning: Akaki Minashvili, Nugzar Tsiklauri, Irma Nadirashvili, Gigi Tsereteli, Petre Tsiskarishvili and Akaki Bobokhidze, they refused to appear at the institution. Mikheil Saakashvili and other members of the United National Movement labelled the aforementioned audio recording “a fabrication by the SSSG.”
Notably, the 2016 case was most likely added to the “SSSG’s archive of incomplete cases” similar to the other cases mentioned previously.
2018: Opposition “plans” for destabilisation
The then Minister of Internal Affairs, Giorgi Gakharia, announced the destabilisation and provocation plans orchestrated by the opposition prior to the presidential elections in 2018.
“I am fully aware of all the plans orchestrated for the preparation of destabilisation and provocations… We have uncovered everything and we know in detail who, where, when and what was planned and is currently being planned. Therefore, this will be impossible,” – asserted the politician.
Despite emphasising the deliberate creation of conditions for a crime against the state, it remains unknown to the public whether or not this statement resulted in any legal action.
2019: Article 315 of the Criminal Code, reopened
Article 315 of the Criminal Code became relevant once again during the events of June 2019 when Sergei Gavrilov, a deputy of the Russian State Council, occupied the seat of the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, addressing the audience in Russian on Rustaveli Avenue, which resulted in widespread protests.
Whilst the investigation into the events surrounding the protests initially commenced under Article 225 of the Criminal Code, which applies to the organisation of group violence, the legal qualification of the aforementioned case was later revised and the Ministry of Internal Affairs continued the investigation under both Articles 225 and 315 of the Criminal Code, according to a statement from the Investigation Agency. Article 315 concerns rebellion aimed at overthrowing and taking over the government which resulted in severe consequences. Notably, “the prosecutor’s office did not provide additional evidence to support the claims regarding rebellion and conspiracy against the state alongside the escalation of legal qualification.”
Ultimately, the Parliament of Georgia adopted the draft law in a third hearing on 7 September, which granted amnesty for the participants and law enforcement officers involved in the Tbilisi protests on 19-21 June 2019.
2020: Another attempted overthrow of the government
Irakli Kobakhidze discussed the destructive election plans of the opposition on 30 October 2020. Specifically, he stated that “the opposition was planning to carry out destructive actions at polling stations for which former law enforcement groups and crews equipped with batons and electric shock devices would be present in various regions.”
Subsequently, the SSSG questioned Kobakhidze regarding his aforementioned statement on 5 November. “We named the leaders behind these plans. Of course, all of this is part of a scenario created by Mikheil Saakashvili who is the leader of the main criminal and destructive political power. Several representatives of this party acted with him, for instance, Devi Tchankotadze, Dimitri Shashkin, amongst others” – stated Kobakhidze.
Details of this investigation remain unknown to the public to this day, like other cases.
2021: Another “plan” of Mikheil Saakashvili
The SSSG also discussed Mikheil Saakashvili’s plans to violently overthrow the government in 2021. The institution stated that if the health condition of Georgia’s third president, Mikheil Saakashvili, was to deteriorate during his transfer to the Gldani 18th facility, his supporters planned to “block the roads and incite chaos through destructive means” in October of the same year.
Later, the SSSG issued another statement, detailing the opposition’s scenario for destabilisation and a coup, as well as claiming that “the organisers of this plans are actively considering the possibility of recruiting an individual from the security forces and eliminating one of the opposition leaders” in November of the same year.
The SSSG asserts that a relevant conversation took place in Mikheil Saakashvili’s presidential library, stating that the two-hour recording is included in the criminal case as evidence.
Legal proceedings and results of the aforementioned case remain unknown to the public. Furthermore, state institutions have not communicated any information regarding the legal measures against the individuals involved in this case.
Members of the ruling party and other affiliated individuals have been actively referring to similar plans for destabilisation. Various international actors participated in orchestrating the revolutionary scenarios alongside the opposition according to the statements provided below. However, it remains unknown to the public whether or not any legal response was undertaken to the following claims:
2022: Irakli Kobakhidze on the so-called “Bakuriani conspiracy”
A seminar about non-violent resistance, which was led by the 75-year old Peter Ackerman, founder of the International Centre for Nonviolent Conflict, held in Bakuriani, Georgia, was labelled as yet another conspiracy scenario.
“If the plan created at their notorious meeting in Bakuriani had been executed, a coup would have occurred in June of last year and Russian tanks would be stationed in Tbilisi today – we declare this with full responsibility. They would bring Russian tanks into Georgia in the exact same manner as they did in August 2008” – stated Irakli Kobakhidze regarding the aforementioned meeting.
2023: Gia Volski accuses Viola von Cramon of conspiracy
“Everything has become clear. This is a strategy, which would escalate from protests to physical violence and civil confrontation which involves bloodshed and human casualties. Von Cramon is one of those individuals who supports the aforementioned scenario from the European Parliament. She, alongside those who created the resolution in the European Parliament, are lobbyists acting against Georgia” – claimed Volski.
Considering the information provided above, state agencies and politicians have consistently made statements regarding various scenarios of a coup throughout the governance of the Georgian Dream. Crime against the state is categorised into serious and especially serious offences, making an appropriate response crucial for ensuring the country’s constitutional order and security foundations.
Despite the key significance of investigating these cases, the legal proceedings often remain unknown to the public – investigations do not progress beyond political rhetoric or they are halted at preliminary stages in many cases. Additionally, numerous unanswered questions arise regarding similar cases; it is frequently unclear what sources politicians and state institutions rely on when spreading information or if any evidence exists to confirm their statements. Moreover, announcements of similar investigations often coincide with significant political events – elections, corruption scandals, etc. Considering all the factors listed above, a reasonable suspect arises that the authorities may be communicating information about “coup scenarios” for political purposes, or that investigative agencies lack the capacity to appropriately investigate these instances.
Note: FactCheck requested open-source information from the SSSG and the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding the progress in investigations conducted under Article 315 of the Criminal Code on 26 September 2024. FactCheck will prepare another report based on the official data should this information be provided.
