Prosecutor's Office Investigates Chorchana Incident as Sabotage, Questions Former Security Chief
By Liza Mchedlidze
Monday, June 16, 2025
Georgia's Prosecutor's Office has confirmed that current government official and former State Security Service head, Vakhtang Gomelauri, has been questioned as a witness in an ongoing investigation linked to the 2019 incident near the occupation line in the village of Chorchana.
The investigation centers on actions taken by then-Interior Minister and later Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia on August 24, 2019, during a sensitive standoff in the area bordering Russian-occupied territory. Authorities are now reviewing whether those actions may have constituted sabotage or posed threats to national security.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, the case is being pursued under several serious charges, including sabotage, attempted sabotage under aggravating circumstances, assisting hostile foreign entities, and mobilizing financial support for activities targeting Georgia's constitutional order and national security. These fall under Articles 318, 319, and 321^2 of the Georgian Criminal Code.
Gomelauri, who was head of the State Security Service at the time of the incident, appeared before investigators as part of the broader inquiry. The controversial deployment of a Georgian checkpoint near the occupation line in Chorchana in 2019 has been a point of political and legal contention ever since.
The Prosecutor's Office also noted that a parliamentary investigative commission is examining the same event. Giorgi Gakharia has already appeared before that commission to provide explanations.
Authorities state that the investigation is ongoing and that further updates will be provided to the public in due course.
