The head of the Tbilisi Patrol Police Main Division, Lasha Jakhadze, has resigned after five years in the post.
News of Jakhadze’s resignation was first reported by a Facebook page Everything About the Police — reportedly affiliated with the Interior Ministry — on Tuesday and was later confirmed to OC Media by the ministry’s press service.
The agency stated that Jakhadze stepped down on ‘his own accord’, having submitted a personal resignation letter. The press office did not clarify whether he would continue working in another position within the ministry.
Jakhadze was appointed as head of the Tbilisi Police Department in April 2020. He was a well-known figure among activists and journalists, frequently appearing in person during police operations at anti-government rallies.
In recent months, amid the ongoing anti-government protests in Tbilisi that began in November 2024 — the early phase of which was marked by severe police violence — a number of personnel changes have taken place within the Interior Ministry.
In May, Interior Minister Vatang Gomelauri resigned, followed in June by the resignation of riot police chief Zviad (Khareba) Kharazishvili, one of the most notorious symbols of police violence against protesters.
In parallel of Kharazishvili’s resignation, the Interior Ministry has also announced the reappointment of 11 police officials to different roles throughout the country, including the appointment of Vazha Siradze, then Head of the Patrol Police Department, as director of the Tbilisi Police Department.
Several high-ranking officials involved in the recent personnel changes had been sanctioned by various countries for violence against protesters. Among them, Gomelauri and Kharazishvili, who were sanctioned by the US and the UK along with some other countries, while Jakhadze was sanctioned by Lithuania.
It is not yet known who will succeed Jakhadze in his position.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
