Ex-official alleges abuse by government units, implicates former superior after fleeing Georgia
In an interview teaser, Irakli Shaishmelashvili, the former Director of the Operational Planning Division within the Special Tasks Department of Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, has broken his silence, alleging the government’s deployment of potentially irregular enforcement units against protesters following his apparent departure from the country.
In an interview segment aired by TV channel Pirveli, set to be broadcast in full on Saturday, Shaishmelashvili alleged that a squad of masked men, identified as the most violent against protesters, operated independently of his Special Tasks Department and the Central Criminal Police Department of the Ministry. Instead, he claimed they reported directly to Zviad ‘Khareba’ Kharazishvili, the Head of the Special Tasks Department — his former superior.
Shaishmelashvili did not dismiss the possibility that Kharazishvili was acting on direct orders from Ivanishvili.
He alleged that the beatings of protesters were deliberate and premeditated crimes rather than incidental acts. He also accused the authorities, though unspecified in this segment, of infiltrating protest demonstrations with hired ‘provocateurs’ tasked with inciting violence against police forces.
On 4 December, Shaishmelashvili submitted his resignation letter, citing family matters, and only in his first public interview he revealed that both he and his family would face the risk of retaliation if he spoke out against the government while in Georgia.
