For Georgia opposition initiates Parliamentary probe into alleged use of banned substances at Tbilisi protests

The parliamentary faction For Georgia has announced plans to submit a draft resolution establishing a temporary investigative commission to examine the legality of special means used by law enforcement during anti-government protests in November- December 2024.

The initiative was outlined in a statement released by the Gakharia – For Georgia party.

According to the party, an independent parliamentary commission is “the only mechanism” that allowed the public to assess the objectivity of the ongoing investigation into claims that banned chemical agents were mixed into water cannons used against peaceful demonstrators.

The party said that international media reports alleging the use of prohibited chemical substances triggered “public outrage and protest, and panic within Georgian Dream,” arguing that this further deepened suspicions of wrongdoing.

The statement stresses that the severity of the alleged offence required an impartial inquiry.

“Citizens must know who gave the order to mix an illegal chemical substance into the water. Was this a systemic crime or an unlawful act by a specific official that endangered the lives and health of numerous demonstrators?”

The For Georgia argued that public confidence in the judicial and investigative system had collapsed and that the ruling party’s prosecutors could not conduct a fully independent or effective probe - particularly if the chain of responsibility reached high-ranking officials.

The party also noted that Georgian Dream had not launched investigations into previous allegations of disproportionate force, nor held accountable those who issued or executed unlawful orders against peaceful protesters. It added that statements by ruling-party representatives had been “chaotic, hysterical and contradictory,” and that the government had effectively admitted that water used during dispersals contained a harmful substance.

Given these circumstances, the faction said it would formally request at the next Bureau session the creation of a temporary parliamentary investigative commission tasked with examining the legality of special means used by law enforcement during the 2024 protests.

“It must be agreed that human life and health are of the highest value,” the statement read, adding that the commission would allow citizens to follow proceedings in real time and evaluate the investigation directly.