Zviad ‘Khareba’ Kharazishvili, the former head of Georgia’s Special Tasks Department who oversaw the brutal dispersals of anti-government protesters in Tbilisi, has reportedly funded the construction of a church. This was revealed on Sunday, when a prominent Georgian Orthodox Church metropolitan consecrated the new building.
The Church of St. Catherine, to whose construction Kharazishvili contributed, is located in the central village of Sagholasheni in the Shida Kartli region.
During a sermon at the same church, Metropolitan Iobi Akiashvili, who oversees the Ruisi–Urbnisi diocese that includes the municipality, mentioned Kharazishvili, along with another person, as ktetors (builders) of the church and thanked them for their contribution.
‘I have said many times that building a church does not happen with money alone; today, many people have money but never even think of constructing a church’, Akiashvili added, concluding:
‘This is the lot of the chosen. God selects a person to build a church, to construct a house of God, and perhaps such people have some merit before God’.
Kharazishvili, who came under intense scrutiny during the police crackdowns on anti-government protests in the spring and winter of 2024, resigned from his position in June 2025. Prior to that, he was sanctioned by the US and the UK for his role in orchestrating and carrying out police violence.
In addition to overseeing the operations, Kharazishvili personally stood out for his aggression toward protesters, publicly insulting them as well as using physical force.
After reports about his funding of the church surfaced, speculation arose that Kharazishvili did so after leaving his official position.
‘When did you decide [to build the church], now that you no longer torture or beat people in the streets?’ a journalist from the opposition media outlet TV Pirveli asked him in a phone interview.
‘It’s been under construction for seven years, for you to know’, Kharazishvili replied.
Mariam Bogveradze
