“They don’t know what form the communication took; not only do they not know the content - they don’t even have a hypothesis. If there were a call record, one could assume something, but they don’t even know whether there was a call,” said Malkhaz Velijanashvili, lawyer for former Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia.

Regarding Akhalaia’s wife, Ani Nadareishvili, the lawyer stated that she has the status of an accused in the case, as the prosecution against her has not been terminated; therefore, in his view, Nadareishvili should not have been removed from the courtroom.

“No personal data was disclosed in the case. The personal information of police officers is known in every case - by that logic, every case could be closed. This is unacceptable; it is a violation of the principle of publicity.

As for the evidence, I want to warn people to be careful: don’t end up making a call to someone that could lead to… [your arrest]. There isn’t even a call - just internet activity. You might ‘like’ a Facebook post, and the State Security Service could classify that as internet activity and arrest you for it,” the lawyer said.

According to him, there is no evidence in Akhalaia’s case.

“There is no evidence at all - only communication via an internet application over Wi-Fi. They have not determined which device was connected. No one can confirm that a call was made. Perhaps someone joined an internet live stream and clicked ‘like’. It’s a fairy tale. No one can confirm that there was communication. They claim there was communication, but they don’t know when. They say it was systematic communication because they are close family acquaintances. Bacho does not deny communication.

The final part of the SSS briefing confirms that an offer was made to Bacho - that he would not be arrested and that his child would not be left alone if he confirmed these issues.

He did not refuse to testify; he said he would answer any questions in the presence of a lawyer,” said Malkhaz Velijanashvili.