Georgian parliamentary commission to question ex-PM Gakharia remotely over checkpoint near occupation line

The temporary investigative commission established by the ruling Georgian Dream party in the parliament has agreed to question former Prime Minister and opposition leader Giorgi Gakharia via remote connection.

The commission made the decision after receiving a request from Gakharia’s lawyer. According to commission chairwoman Thea Tsulukiani, Gakharia will be required to provide the technical means for the remote connection himself and must remain connected until the commission completes its questioning.

“We are not refusing to include him, but he must ensure proper technological and logistical conditions for participation on July 2 at 16:00 Tbilisi time,” Tsulukiani said. She stressed that Gakharia could not leave the session early, dismissing any conflicting engagements as irrelevant. “The Georgian parliament is higher than the German socialists; the opposition should understand this,” she added.

Gakharia is being summoned for a second interrogation regarding the opening of the Chorchana checkpoint, a facility located in a government-controlled area near an occupation line with Russian-controlled Tskhinvali region in 2019. 

Gakharia’s party previously announced he would be unable to attend the session in person due to absence from Georgia but was willing to participate remotely.

The commission’s discussions also touched on testimonies related to the checkpoint. On June 11, Elguja Kharazishvili, who was initially introduced as a Chorchana resident but is actually from the nearby village of Tsaghli, claimed that following the checkpoint’s opening, locals lost access to the Tsaghli forest due to occupation forces establishing their own checkpoint and seizing half the area. Kharazishvili did not comment on pre-existing issues faced by Chorchana residents or their current views on the checkpoint.

Earlier, on June 14, Vakhtang Gomelauri, former Minister of Internal Affairs and ex-head of the State Security Service, was questioned by the Prosecutor’s Office regarding the checkpoint. He stated there had been no agreement and that authorities learned about the establishment of the checkpoint only after the fact.

Following Gomelauri’s interrogation, the Prosecutor’s Office announced an investigation into alleged sabotage and related crimes, including attempts to destabilise Georgia’s constitutional order. The probe cites Articles 318, 319, and 3211 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, covering sabotage, assistance to foreign organisations in hostile acts, and mobilising funds against national security.