The News in Brief

Georgian Neo-Nazi Leader Sentenced to 15 Years in U.S. for Soliciting Hate Crimes

A federal court in Brooklyn has sentenced Michail Chkhikvishvili, a 22-year-old Georgian national, to 15 years in prison for soliciting hate crimes and distributing instructions to make bombs and ricin.

Chkhikvishvili, known as "Commander Butcher," led the Maniacs Murder Cult, an international extremist organization. He had pleaded guilty in November and was extradited to New York in May 2025 from Moldova, where he was arrested in July 2024.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Chkhikvishvili had, since 2021 distributed a "Hater's Handbook" manifesto encouraging members to commit acts of mass violence, including school shootings. From late 2023, he solicited an undercover FBI employee to carry out bombings and arsons against racial minorities and Jewish individuals. One scheme involved a planned New Year's Eve mass casualty attack in New York targeting the Jewish community, in which an individual would dress as Santa Claus and hand out poison-laced candy to minority children.

"Chkhikvishvili repeatedly called for the murder of innocent civilians, including children, and schemed to attack and terrorize Jewish communities and racial minorities in the United States," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg.

U.S. authorities also alleged that Chkhikvishvili had inspired violent crimes abroad, including a January 2025 school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, which left one injured and two dead, including the perpetrator, and an August 2024 stabbing attack outside a mosque in Eskisehir, Turkey.



IPRM Meeting Held Near Tskhinvali Occupation Line

The 132nd meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism took place on May 14 in Ergneti, near the occupation line with Georgia's Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region, co-facilitated by OSCE and EU Monitoring Mission representatives.

Georgia's State Security Service said all significant incidents along the occupation line since the previous meeting were discussed. Georgian representatives again demanded justice for the killing of Georgian citizen Tamaz Ginturi, the immediate release of all unlawfully detained individuals, and condemned the ongoing practice of "borderization." Restrictions on freedom of movement across the occupation line were also extensively discussed.

The EUMM and OSCE co-facilitators welcomed the temporary opening of crossing points during Orthodox Easter in April, which passed without incident and allowed communities to visit relatives and attend religious services. They called for a similar arrangement for the Lomisoba festivities on June 3 and reiterated calls for the full reopening of crossing points. Participants also discussed irrigation issues and individual detention cases, with the EUMM and OSCE urging all sides to discontinue the practice of detentions.

The de facto authority's representative, Igor Kochiev, said the period since the last meeting was "characterized by a relatively low level of violations" and cited three incidents involving a Georgian citizen, a Georgian police officer, and an EUMM patrol. He also raised the case of Tamaz Goloev, an Akhalgori resident detained in Tbilisi on espionage charges, calling for his release and describing the charges as "trumped-up."

The next IPRM meetings are scheduled for July 23 and September 8, 2026.