Former Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has accepted to appear before a parliamentary investigative commission probing alleged crimes under the previous United National Movement government between 2003-2012 on Monday, as part of an inquiry into the crackdown on anti-government protests in June 2019 under the Georgian Dream authorities – an incident widely known as “Gavrilov night”.
Gakharia, who currently leads the opposition party Gakharia – For Georgia, served as Minister of Internal Affairs at the time of the unrest sparked by the appearance of Russian MPs in the state legislature during a religious conference, when police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters gathered outside the Georgian Parliament.
The protests erupted after a Russian MP, Sergei Gavrilov, addressed lawmakers from the parliamentary speaker’s chair – a move that triggered widespread outrage in the country which has 20 percent of its territories occupied by Russia.
The brutal dispersal resulted in hundreds of injuries, including to journalists and bystanders. Two demonstrators were permanently blinded after being struck by rubber bullets.
The GD authorities praised Gakharia following the dispersal for “saving the country from unrest”, while accusing him for “aligning with the UNM interests” after he left premiership and the party in 2021 due to controversies with the GD party leadership over the arrest of then UNM chair Nika Melia.
Gakharia is expected to appear before the commission at 12 p.m. A press briefing he had scheduled for the same time has been postponed, according to his party’s press service.
The commission, established by the ruling Georgian Dream party on February 5, 2025, was initially tasked with investigating alleged abuses committed under the former UNM government. These include claims of torture in prisons, unlawful surveillance, corruption, and the alleged politicisation of the 2008 war with Russia. The panel has since expanded its mandate to examine the actions of opposition parties in the post-UNM era.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, a senior Georgian Dream MP, said the investigation would also address “numerous anti-state actions” by opposition groups since 2012, accusing them of attempting to “overthrow or violently change the constitutional order of Georgia”.
The commission is chaired by Thea Tsulukiani, a former Justice Minister, and includes five members from Georgian Dream, with the remaining seats filled by MPs from the pro-government People’s Power and European Socialists factions.
Several prominent opposition figures, including Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze of Strong Georgia, as well as former Defence Minister Irakli Okruashvili, have refused to attend the hearings. Legal proceedings have been launched against them under Article 349 of Georgia’s Criminal Code for failing to comply with a parliamentary summons. The Tbilisi City Court has imposed bail as a preventive measure.
Other invited opposition leaders include Nika Melia and Nika Gvaramia from the Coalition for Change.
