The investigation has unequivocally confirmed that the use of the banned chemical substance bromobenzyl cyanide, also known as “Camite,” could not have physically occurred, because this substance does not exist in Georgia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs has never purchased it, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze said in a video address on social media.

According to him, for the fifth day now, the public has been observing “a campaign organized by foreign intelligence services against Georgia, aimed at undermining the country’s stability and damaging Georgia’s reputation.”

“Unfortunately, as we have seen many times before, well-known odious figures - both inside and outside the country - are actively participating in this anti-Georgian campaign. The BBC report, which is built entirely on assumptions and fabricated stories, became an artificial trigger for politically motivated groups to launch a new hybrid war against Georgia and the Georgian people, to intimidate the population, and to spark chaos with shockingly false accusations both in our country and internationally.

The report prepared by the BBC contains multiple demonstrably false accusations, the most sensitive of which is the alleged use of the banned chemical substance bromobenzyl cyanide, or ‘Camite,’ during the dispersal of violent, illegal protests. The investigation has unequivocally confirmed that the use of this substance could not have physically taken place, because this substance does not exist in Georgia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs has never purchased it,” Kaladze said.

According to him, “Camite” is such a highly toxic substance, with severe side effects, that if it had been used, protest participants would have suffered lasting health damage, and there might even have been lethal outcomes - while “not a single protester has approached any medical facility with complaints resulting from chemical exposure.”

“The chemical substance that the BBC and, afterward, certain interested individuals and controlled media outlets accused the Georgian authorities of using is one of the most toxic agents, accompanied by such severe side effects that, theoretically, its use would leave irreversible traces on the health of those participating in the violent protest. Moreover, exposure to ‘Camite’ would highly likely result in lethal outcomes. At the same time, there is not a single victim in the case: not one participant of the illegal protests has approached a medical facility with complaints resulting from exposure to a chemical substance. In total, during the period of violent protests - from November 28, 2024, to January 28 - around 200 people were taken to inpatient medical facilities by emergency medical brigades, among them only 5 with mild intoxication, all of whom were discharged the next day,” Kaladze said.