Former Interior Minister on BBC chemical agent report: ‘substance existed, but it was purchased, used only until 2012’

Former Interior Minister of Georgia, Vakhtang Gomelauri, on Monday said the substance referenced in the BBC investigation was indeed purchased and used by the Ministry, but only under the previous government, and not after 2012.

TV Imedi cited Gomelauri as saying that the last purchase of the chemical agent mentioned by the BBC was made in 2009, under the former government led by the United National Movement.

“The substances they are talking about were indeed purchased by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and they were used, but only until 2012. If I am not mistaken, the last purchase was made in 2009 or 2010. Since then, the Ministry has neither purchased nor used it. I can say with full responsibility: the UNM has dug up an old story!” Gomelauri stated.

The BBC reported that evidence it obtained suggests the Georgian authorities used a World War I–era chemical agent to disperse anti-government demonstrations last year. The article includes testimonies from protesters who described symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, and vomiting after being hit by water cannons during pro-European rallies, with some symptoms lasting for weeks.

According to the BBC, its investigation involved chemical weapons experts, informants from Georgia’s police special units, and medical professionals, and concluded that the evidence points to the use of a substance once referred to by the French military as “camite” — bromobenzyl cyanide, developed by the Allies during World War I.