Ex-riot police officer Shaishmelashvili says he cannot rule out Ivanishvili personally ordered police to crack down on protesters

Irakli Shaishmelashvili, a former senior official in the Special Tasks Department who resigned on 4 December following the government crackdown on street demonstrations, told TV Pirveli that he does not rule out that Bidzina Ivanishvili himself gave the orders to disperse the rallies.

Shaishmelashvili said that he knew in the past about the close ties between Ivanishvili and Zviad Kharazishvili, the head of the riot police.

‘It is possible that the orders come directly from [Ivanishvili]’, he said.