Tbilisi court issues arrest warrant for former Georgian PM Giorgi Gakharia

The Tbilisi City Court has issued an arrest warrant in absentia for former Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, who is facing criminal charges related to two controversial incidents from his tenure as Minister of Internal Affairs in 2019.

According to Georgia’s Prosecutor General’s Office, Gakharia is accused of abuse of power and intentionally causing harm during the violent dispersal of anti-government protests in June 2019, when police used rubber bullets and tear gas against demonstrators outside parliament. The crackdown left hundreds injured and sparked widespread public outrage, Caliber.Az reports per Georgian media. 

In a separate case, prosecutors allege that Gakharia unlawfully ordered the construction of a border checkpoint in the village of Chorchana, near the administrative boundary with South Ossetia, in August 2019. Authorities claim the move, made without proper authorisation, resulted in Georgia losing control of approximately 100 hectares of forest and heightened the risk of armed confrontation in the area.

The Tbilisi City Court approved the prosecution’s request to arrest Gakharia in connection with the border checkpoint case. The decision means he will be detained if he returns to Georgia. Gakharia is currently believed to be in Germany, where he has resided since the spring of this year.

A separate court hearing related to the 2019 protest dispersal is scheduled for November 13. Prosecutor General Giorgi Gvarakidze stated that the charges against the former prime minister carry a potential sentence of up to 13 years in prison.

Gakharia served as mnister of internal affairs from 2017 to 2019 and became prime minister later that year, despite public criticism over his handling of the June 2019 protests. He resigned in February 2021 and subsequently founded an opposition party, For Georgia, positioning himself as an alternative to both the ruling Georgian Dream party and the main opposition.

By Sabina Mammadli