00:30, 26 December 2025

Former Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia was detained in Tbilisi in connection with the "October 4" case.

Former Georgian Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia has been arrested in connection with the unrest during a protest on the day of the October 4 municipal elections. His wife, Ani Nadareishvili, was also detained but later released.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot", on October 4, the day of the municipal elections, thousands of people gathered in the center of Tbilisi. After opera singer Paata Burchaladze declared that power in Georgia belongs to the people, clashes between protesters and security forces erupted near the presidential palace. Security forces used riot gear, while protesters used firecrackers. Six demonstrators and 21 security forces were hospitalized, and another 30 people received medical assistance on the spot. Police have opened a criminal case in connection with calls to overthrow the government, an attack on police officers, and the storming of the palace. Five protest leaders—opera singer Paata Burchuladze, Secretary General of the Strategy Agmashenebeli party Paata Manjgaladze, former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces Colonel Lasha Beridze, and United National Movement activists Murtaz Zodelava and Irakli Nadiradze—have been arrested on charges of organizing group violence, calling for the overthrow of the government, and attempting to seize the presidential palace. They face up to nine years in prison; all five have refused to plead guilty.

According to Prosecutor Lasha Maghradze, Bacho Akhalaia was detained as part of a criminal investigation into the events that took place in Tbilisi on October 4. According to the State Security Service, a former high-ranking official was the main organizer of the October 4 rally, Pirveli TV reports.

In 2012, videos of prisoners being tortured at Gldani Prison were made public, sparking mass protests. Georgian Interior Minister Bacho Akhalaia and the Minister of Corrections, Probation, and Legal Aid Khatuna Kalmakhelidze resigned, and a number of prison employees and the head of the Corrections Department, David Chakua, were dismissed. Torture at Gldani is just one of many instances of inhumane treatment of prisoners during the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili. This has seriously tarnished his reputation. The number of people tortured in prisons is approximately 1,000, according to a report prepared by the "Caucasian Knot." According to the State Security Service, Bacho Akhalaia had an internet telephone conversation with members of the "organizing committee," although Maghradze's department did not specify the content of the conversation. "From 9:00 p.m. on September 28 until their arrest, numerous internet telephone messages were sent via internet applications—a total of 343 internet sessions were recorded, including 157 with Murtaz Zodelava, 110 with Paata Burchuladze, 29 with Paata Manjgaladze, 26 with Lasha Beridze, and 21 with Irakli Nadiradze," the State Security Service said in a statement. Georgia.

The agency claims that Murtaza Zodelava's last connection to the IP address registered in the name of Anna Nadareishvili occurred nine minutes before "Paata Burchuladze's speech calling for violence," which provides compelling grounds for this conclusion.

"Based on the evidence obtained, the identity of the main organizer of the criminal actions of October 4 in Georgia has been confirmed beyond doubt. Accordingly, Bacho Akhala has been detained. The criminal case will be transferred to the Central Criminal Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the purpose of combining it with another criminal case, bringing charges, and conducting further investigation," the agency's statement reads.

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/419408