The Special Investigation Service published a statement on the progress of the investigation launched in connection with the April and May 2024 rallies.

As mentioned in the statement, they received 80 messages from various agencies and through the hotline about alleged illegal actions taken by law enforcement officers against the participants of the rally, which were related to the violation of the rights of the participants of the rally and individual journalists.

As indicated in the statement released by the Special Investigation Service, Levan Khabeishvili, the injured chairman of the United National Movement, was immediately contacted by phone in order to question him, however, he did not respond to the investigator's phone calls or short text messages.

According to the report of the agency, on May 3, Levan Khabeishvili and the lawyer defending his interests surrendered to the investigative body for questioning, to which the Special Investigation Service has not received an answer so far.

"We would like to provide the public with information about the ongoing criminal case in the Special Investigation Service, which concerns the alleged abuse of official authority against the participants of the protest rally held in April and May 2024 in Tbilisi, near the parliament and government administrative buildings.

In April and May 2024, the Special Investigation Service received 80 reports from different agencies and hotlines regarding the alleged illegal actions taken by law enforcement officers against the participants of the rally and the violation of the rights of the participants of the rally and individual journalists.

As it is known to the public, in connection with the received messages, the investigation in the Special Investigation Service was immediately started.

The Special Investigation Service provided a quick legal response to each incoming message. Since the beginning of the investigation, 67 people have been interviewed (including 9 journalists), 30 citizens have been medically examined; The scene of the accident was inspected at different locations, during which the surveillance video cameras of interest to the investigation were identified; In order to determine the actual circumstances of the incident, to identify the persons participating in the individual episodes of interest to the investigation, and to determine the recognizable signs, the investigation obtained recordings of television programs available in the public Internet space”, reads the statement.

According to the Special Investigation Service, they started an investigation on May 1 regarding the episode of Levan Khabeishvili, who was injured at the rally.

“Levan Khabeishvili was immediately contacted by phone in order to question him, however, he did not respond to the investigator's phone calls or text messages. After this, on May 3, Levan Khabeishvili and the lawyer defending his interests were handed over a document summoning them to the investigative body for questioning, to which the agency has not received a response.

At the stage of the investigation, the location was inspected, where the incident between the special forces and Levan Khabeishvili took place, surveillance video cameras of interest to the investigation were identified. A petition was submitted to the court to request the records of the video surveillance cameras of the National Gallery of Georgia and the facilities located nearby; A letter was sent to the medical clinic regarding the medical documentation of Levan Khabeishvili, in order to subsequently access it and conduct a forensic medical examination. A letter was sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding the identity of the law enforcement officers in contact with Levan Khabeishvili; Information was requested from various media outlets in order to request video recordings of the incident between Levan Khabeishvili and the special forces employees, including unedited video material.

The Special Investigation Service will provide the public with information on the progress and results of the investigation," the agency said.

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