SJC Calls for Criminal Charges Against Interior Ministry Officials Over 2024 Protest Violence
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
A human rights organization Social Justice Center (SJC), has formally requested the Tbilisi Prosecutor's Office to initiate criminal proceedings against senior former and current officials of the Interior Ministry. The call comes amid allegations of violence against protesters during the late-2024 demonstrations on Rustaveli Avenue.
The ongoing investigation, which focuses on "abuse of power" and "interference with journalistic activities," has been overseen by the Tbilisi Prosecutor's Office following the dissolution of the Special Investigation Service in July.
Representing approximately 60 victims, the SJC stated on August 11 that evidence points to a "well-founded assumption" that high-ranking officials, including former Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri and former Special Tasks Department head Zviad Kharazishvili, were aware of police abuses yet failed to take sufficient preventive actions.
According to witness testimonies and interrogation reports, Kharazishvili possessed "full information about the violence" carried out during the protests but "failed to take appropriate action to prevent the crime, which constitutes an official offense." The SJC accuses him of neglecting his duties by permitting masked, heavily equipped officers to operate without special identification markings, a policy that effectively ensured perpetrators of violence remained unidentifiable and unpunished.
"Within the framework of the investigation, it should also be assessed whether he engaged in deliberate actions connected to the intentional absence of identification markings on Special Task Department employees and the deliberate tolerance of violence, and provision of guarantee of impunity," the group said.
In late May, Gomelauri resigned as interior minister, triggering a significant reshuffle within the ministry. Among those who left were Kharazishvili and his deputies Mirza Kezevadze and Mileri Lagazauri, all of whom have been sanctioned by the United Kingdom and the United States under the Global Magnitsky Act for their alleged roles in human rights abuses.
Beyond Kharazishvili, the SJC highlighted that the case materials indicate criminal liability for Gomelauri, who "gave the orders to disperse assemblies and was responsible for the proper conduct of this process," along with his former deputies Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, Ioseb Chelidze, Giorgi Butkhuzi, and Shalva Bedoidze, as well as Kharazishvili's deputies Kezevadze and Lagazauri.
The group pointed to video evidence showing these officials observing the violence. It also cited the testimony of Irakli Shaishmelashvili, a former Special Tasks Department officer who resigned amid the December dispersals in protest. Shaishmelashvili's statement "indicates that MIA senior officials had knowledge of the violence but did nothing to prevent the clearly criminal actions," and in some cases, were directly involved.
"In view of all the above, the Social Justice Center calls on the Tbilisi Prosecutor's Office to consider the submitted motion and ensure the initiation of criminal prosecution against [Zviad] Kharazishvili and other senior officials of the MIA," the SJC said.
After reviewing the case files in January 2025, the SJC submitted a series of formal motions to prosecutors seeking expanded charges and further investigative actions.
The group requested the case be reclassified to include more serious offenses such as "torture, degrading and inhuman treatment, and robbery" instead of solely "abuse of power." It also called for a comprehensive review of how the protest dispersals were planned and executed, including access to operational plans, identification of involved officers, and questioning of senior Interior Ministry officials.
Additionally, the SJC demanded seizure and examination of mobile phones, computers, and electronic communications belonging to those officials. They requested technical analyses of the Ministry's radio communications system, after records from November 28 to December 8, 2024, were found missing or incomplete due to alleged "defects." Similar gaps had been identified in earlier protest investigations, raising concerns over possible evidence destruction or concealment.
The group also pushed for retrieval of video footage from detainee transport vehicles, as numerous witnesses reported continued physical violence by Special Tasks Department officers inside those vehicles after detention.
Furthermore, the SJC urged investigators to question Irakli Shaishmelashvili, who they say "possesses important information" regarding decision-making during the dispersals, the illegality of using special means against protesters, and the direct involvement of senior officials in the violence.
