Georgian minor faces criminal charges for making ‘false bomb reports’ during Patriarch’s funeral
The Georgian State Security Service (SSG) stated that a false report claiming the presence of bombs at the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Sameba) was made on the day of Patriarch Ilia II’s funeral. A minor allegedly involved is facing criminal charges.
According to the SSG, two anonymous calls were made to the Interior Ministry on Sunday, 14:30 — at a time when a service was still underway at Sameba and a large number of attendees were present:
‘The caller stated that they were located in the vicinity of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, armed with a firearm, and had planted explosives on the cathedral’s grounds. They threatened that if an evacuation was not carried out within the next 20 minutes, an explosion would be triggered’.
The agency added that although the caller attempted to cover their tracks by using ‘appropriate software to alter their voice’, as well as a ‘virtual phone number from a foreign country and a concealed IP address’, authorities were still able to identify them.
‘The minor admits to committing the crime’, the SSG wrote, noting that several mobile phones, laptops, and ‘other evidence relevant to the case’ were seized during a search.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
The charge of making a false report about terrorism, which the SSG said the minor faces, carries a sentence of 3 to 6 years in prison.
The SSG further warned that it possesses the necessary technological capabilities to detect ‘such criminal acts’ and that each case will be met with a ‘strict legal response’.Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, died on 17 March. He was laid to rest on 22 March.
