Giorgi Gakharia’s lawyer: Gomelauri’s testimony is an utter disgrace - there is a fundamental contradiction between his testimony and that of Mamuka Bakhtadze, and Bakhtadze’s testimony is more credible

“The testimony given by the head of the State Security Service is an utter disgrace, and the proceedings were closed precisely to conceal this testimony. The process of establishing the checkpoint and the policy concerning the direction of the occupation line had been under development since January 2019. In January, the State Security Service, together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, recorded this type of marking, and operational work and reconnaissance of this territory were being carried out. Yet today Vakhtang Gomelauri directly says that he did not know about this until August 24,” Berdia Sichinava, the lawyer of former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, said after the court hearing, at which then-head of the State Security Service Vakhtang Gomelauri was questioned regarding the Chorchana case.

According to Sichinava, the testimonies of Gomelauri and then-Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze differ substantially, containing numerous inaccuracies and mutually contradictory details.

“Since the hearing is closed, I can speak only about those details that have already been recorded as public information in the questioning of Mr. Gomelauri. I cannot discuss the details, but one thing I can tell you is that the testimony given by the head of the State Security Service is an utter disgrace for the State Security Service itself and for the head of the security service of a country that considers occupied territory its main security challenge. And Vakhtang Gomelauri is precisely the person whose testimony the court proceedings were closed to conceal, based on the prosecutor’s motion.

“This testimony given by the head of the State Security Service is an utter disgrace, and the proceedings were closed precisely to conceal it. Mr. Gomelauri had no answer to any of the questions. How can the head of the State Security Service not know about developments taking place along the occupation line in the country? How can it be that six years later he discovers that this is a crime? And how can it be that, after the Chorchana checkpoint was established, this turns out to have occurred within the Cabinet of Ministers when Giorgi Gakharia was prime minister?

“Gomelauri stated that he learned about the construction of the police checkpoint only after the police checkpoint had already been established. This person talks about everything and, at the same time, about nothing. He could not escape the fact that relevant markings had existed in the specific area since January 2019.

“There is a fundamental contradiction between his testimony and that of Mamuka Bakhtadze. This is unconvincing and inconsistent information, with mutually contradictory information even within his own testimony. I cannot discuss the details, but I will tell you that the testimony given by Mamuka Bakhtadze is more credible than that of Mr. Gomelauri, who at the time provided the investigation with distorted information and today, during the substantive examination of the case, attempted to correct it, albeit very incompetently.

“This is an utter disgrace when the head of the State Security Service is placed on the level of Vakhtang Shakarashvili, Nana Kakabadze, or a ‘fake’ organization or party acting against Georgia’s national interests. This system has humiliated Gomelauri to such an extent today that it has placed him alongside Vakhtang Shakarashvili and Nana Kakabadze.

“The time will certainly come when the Chorchana case will be reinvestigated, these witnesses will be questioned again, and all those who gave testimony against the national interests of their own country and against their own dignity will have to face criminal liability.

“The process of establishing the Chorchana checkpoint and the policy concerning the occupation line in the Chorchana area had been under development since January 2019. In January 2019, the State Security Service, together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, recorded this type of marking, and operational work and reconnaissance of the territory and the policy being pursued there were underway. Yet today Vakhtang Gomelauri directly says that he did not know about it until August 24, and that the head of the State Security Service in an occupied country learned about the establishment of a police checkpoint through the hotline from representatives of the occupation line,” Berdia Sichinava said.