The Georgian Prosecutor's Office has officially confirmed information circulated in the media about the launch of a criminal case against a representative of the opposition, former prime minister and Minister of Internal Affairs of the country Giorgi Gakharia. He is charged with sabotage, attempted sabotage under aggravating circumstances, assistance in the hostile activities of an organization subordinate to foreign influence, as well as mobilization of funds to undermine the constitutional order and national security.

"The investigation examines, among other things, the actions of former Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia along the occupation line near the village of Chorchana on August 24, 2019," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

We are talking about a checkpoint set up by the Georgian Interior Ministry in Chorchana in August 2019. The village is located near the administrative border with the breakaway Tskhinvali region. The ministry explained its actions by the need to strengthen control against the backdrop of the ongoing installation of fences and signs of the so-called border by Tskhinvali formations and Russian border guards. Tskhinvali interpreted this as a provocation, demanding that the post be closed, and even a bilateral meeting did not help reach a compromise.

In October of the same year, the Tskhinvali side detained a patrol of the EU Monitoring Mission near Chorchana, after which it responded by installing its own post nearby. Tskhinvali also blocked the crossings to Georgian-controlled territory, thereby isolating the only area in the region with a predominance of ethnic Georgians in the population.

Now, years later, the ruling party of Georgia has accused the then head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Giorgi Gakharia of trying to provoke an escalation of the conflict with the Russian Federation, which could lead to a "large-scale war."

It was also reported that on Saturday, the prosecutor's office summoned former Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, who headed the State Security Service at the time of the 2019 events, which, along with the Interior Ministry, is responsible for monitoring the demarcation line.

"Of course, I was against setting up a checkpoint in Chorchana, this should not have been done. But perhaps I was not summoned for this case," he commented on the prosecutor's request.

It is noteworthy that, according to Giorgi Gakharia, the decision was agreed upon with the head of the SSS. At a meeting of the parliamentary investigative commission, the oppositionist said that the issue was about protecting about 1,800 hectares of forest, and that "everyone knew everything" about the situation on the ground.