Non-governmental organizations are responding to the arrest of the former deputy head of the State Security Service, Soso Gogashvili, and the subsequent events.

The third sector appeals to the Ministry of Justice to take full responsibility for the protection of Gogashvili's life and physical safety in the penitentiary system, calls on the court to administer justice to Gogashvili without leaving any questions, and appeals to the General Prosecutor's Office to immediately start an investigation into all the facts and information containing signs of crime spread by Gogashvili.

The signatory organizations believe that the government has a special obligation to protect Gogashvili's physical safety and health, to administer justice to him with a high standard, and to immediately investigate the information spread by him.

As the statement notes, the former deputy head of the security service, Soso Gogashvili, was arrested on July 16, 2022 at his home on three charges. The investigation accuses him of personal data breach, abusing his authority and illegal acquisition and storage of firearms. The court sentenced Gogashvili to prison as a preventive measure. Gogashvili and his family members claim that during his arrest, he was ill-treated and and a firearm was planted on him. They are also talking about the facts of planting electronic devices and a computer together with weapons, which the law enforcement officers removed from Gogashvili's house as evidence.

"It should be noted that the name of Soso Gogashvili is associated with a number of systematic crimes and gross violations of the rights of specific citizens in the past. The mentioned facts need an effective and complete investigation, however, at the same time, it is critically important to protect Gogashvili's rights as a whistleblower and guarantee his safety. After his arrest, Soso Gogashvili announced exposing systemic crimes. Based on the information provided by Gogashvili, non-governmental organizations published a report. The report contains information on the large-scale use of administrative resources, voter bribery, illegal mobilization and collection of personal information by the ruling party and the executive branch in the 2018 and 2020 elections. Also, Gogashvili spoke on the social network regarding receiving illegal assignments from Bidzina Ivanishvili, the involvement of the Security Service in the kidnapping of Afgan Mukhtarli and his handover to the Republic of Azerbaijan, the possible commission of the most serious crimes by the acting Minister of Internal Affairs and the head of the Security Service.

Considering the above, we call on:

Ministry of Justice of Georgia - to take full responsibility for protecting the life and physical safety of Soso Gogashvili in the penitentiary system.

The court - to administer justice to Soso Gogashvili in such a way that there are no questions about the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.

The General Prosecutor's Office of Georgia - to immediately start an investigation on all the facts and information containing signs of a crime spread by Gogashvili," the statement reads.

The signatory organizations of the statement are: Georgian Democratic Initiative (GDI); Transparency International - Georgia (TI); International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED); Social Justice Center (SJC); Safari; Rights Georgia; Georgian Reforms Association (GRASS); Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA); Atlantic Council of Georgia; Human Rights Center (HRC); Media Development Fund (MDF); European-Georgian Institute (EGI).

source: IPN