The State Security Service (SSS) has summoned Eka Gigauri, the Executive Director of Transparency International Georgia, for questioning as a witness in connection with the BBC’s investigative film. The organization released a statement regarding this.

According to the statement, Eka Gigauri has requested that the questioning take place before a magistrate judge.

“In the film, Eka Gigauri speaks about the repressive policy that Georgian Dream is carrying out against the Georgian people. The fact that the SSG is summoning those who were respondents in the film, including Eka Gigauri, raises strong suspicion that their goal is not to establish the truth, but to increase pressure on human rights organizations.

Instead of the government providing a convincing explanation as to what chemical agents were used in dispersing the peaceful protests of November–December 2024, the SSG is summoning for questioning those individuals and organizations that protect human rights. It should also be noted that investigative bodies had one year to identify and prosecute those involved in torture and inhuman treatment, yet to this day not a single police officer has been punished.

Meanwhile, we see that representatives of Georgian civil society organizations and solidarity funds are under investigation for purchasing masks, raincoats, and other similar protective items,” the statement reads.