The executive secretary of the party “For Georgia,” lawyer of Giorgi Gakharia, Berdia Sichinava, states that at the substantive hearing of the Chorchana case, where the defense side submitted two motions. Specifically, according to the lawyer, the defense requested Giorgi Gakharia’s remote attendance at the hearing and the merging of the two cases brought against him.

Sichinava explained that both requests were denied by the court, which he described as “unfounded and irrational.”

“As you know, today the substantive hearing of the ‘Chorchana case’ began. The defense side submitted two motions: one - for Giorgi Gakharia to attend the hearing remotely, since this right is guaranteed by the European Convention and the Criminal Procedure Legislation; accordingly, any argument claiming the opposite obviously has no connection to the law.

The second motion, which was also completely irrationally denied with the explanation that the motion to merge the cases was not substantiated, even though there are two criminal cases against the same accused, the same prosecutor’s office is the accuser, and it is a single centralized system, and the same judge is assigned to both cases. It is unimaginable that we should hold two separate court proceedings at different times when the judge is the same, the accused is the same, the prosecutor’s office is the same. The division of these cases is completely inexplicable and irrational,” Sichinava stated.

According to Sichinava, if the actions carried out in Chorchana are considered damaging to national interests, then responsibility also lies with the persons who held high positions in the state security system during that period and later became members of Giorgi Gakharia’s government.

According to his statement, these individuals will have to provide explanations in court.

“As for the ‘Chorchana case,’ this criminal case has no connection to justice. This is an act directed against Georgia’s national interests, where, unfortunately, the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office is violating national interests by carrying out prosecution in this case. On the one hand, the claims that the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office is making against Giorgi Gakharia coincide in one point with the rhetoric of the so-called de facto Tskhinvali occupation regime in South Ossetia. Accordingly, there will be no talk of fairness. We have reviewed the evidence presented in the case, including the conclusions and reports of the State Security Service, which were applauded with thunderous applause and positively reviewed by the Parliament of Georgia.

Leaving all that aside, if an act of violation of national interests took place in Chorchana, on Georgian soil, for the defense of Georgian land, by installing a Georgian police checkpoint - how did these people choose Giorgi Gakharia and express trust in him twice for the position of Prime Minister? These people’s words had no value then and have no value now, because they will do exactly what one person - their sovereign, their master, Bidzina Ivanishvili - orders them to do. It is precisely on his order that justice is being carried out today against Giorgi Gakharia - not justice, but political justice, an act of betrayal of Georgia’s national interests that can damage this country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Of course, the head of the State Security Service will have to appear here and explain how he did not know the information about the installation of the checkpoint and how he learned about the installation of the checkpoint from the territory beyond the occupation line through the hotline. If there was an act of betrayal of national interests, why, as a permanent member of the National Security Council, did he not raise this issue at the National Security Council session? Why did he remain silent throughout this period, and why did he agree to the position of Minister of Internal Affairs in that person’s government - not once, but twice - don’t forget that. These people, including not only the head of the security service, the former Defense Minister who is now an advisor on some education issues, among them the former Defense Minister, the head of the Intelligence Service, the Finance Minister, and former Prime Minister Bakhtadze, who apparently was not aware of anything, will have to appear here and answer critical questions - because this is not merely a criminal case against Giorgi Gakharia; this is an act directed against national interests that can damage this country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Berdia Sichinava stated.