The Interim Fact-Finding Commission on the Activities of the Regime, the Political Leaders of the Regime of 2003-2012 and the Activity of the Incumbent and Former Officials in the Political Unions since 2003 up to today, questioned Nona Kaulashvili, Simon Gasviani, Tornike Gerliani, and Pridon Zoidze.

Tornike Gerliani provided an account of the developments in the Dali Gorge before and during the August war. According to the source, in 2006, during the so-called liberation operation conducted by law enforcement troops in the Kodori Gorge, the houses of local residents were subjected to heavy bombardment from helicopters with rockets and machine guns, resulting in the loss of one life.

As he pointed out, the then Defence Minister, Irakli Okruashvili, made a chilling threat to the local populace, declaring that “he would not hesitate to carry out a brutal campaign of violence, including decapitation, against anyone, even children, women and the elderly", who dared to express even the slightest form of opposition.

As reported, following the disbandment of the "Monadire" Battalion in 2006, the battalion`s members were subsequently hunted down. Two of them, Romeo Margvelani and Zaza Gerliani, were even killed in prison.

Gerliani also observed that the central authorities bombarded the Gorge two more times in 2007. Regarding the 2008 war, he emphasised that the central authorities deliberately misled the local populace about their purported control over the situation and that no evacuation was necessary. However, on August 10, the army fled from the Kodori Gorge, and it was only after this event that the local residents departed from the territory.

As per the assessment of the reporter, the state policy aimed at the concession of the territories to the occupants with the residents to increase the victims among the peaceful citizens.

Simon Gasviani, who served in the border police in 2008, reported to the Commission about the developments in the Dali Gorge. According to his account, the military units of the Ministry of Defence left the stored armament, designed for approximately 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers, for the occupants upon their retreat from the Gorge during the August war.

As he pointed out, the border police, who were deployed in the Kodori Gorge during the August war, have not received any instructions on how to act, as the representatives of the central authorities departed the Gorge without prior notice. According to the reporter, since 2006, Saakashvili has multiple times bombarded the Kodori Gorge and finally, conceded it to the occupants.

The IDP from the Tskhinvali region, Nona Kaulashvili, provided her information online.

According to her, as the August war started, the local population leaving the conflict zone by themselves were under surveillance by the Security Service.

"Each of our steps was monitored due to concerns that we might participate in protest rallies or provide television interviews addressing the underlying issues. All the premises where IDPs found shelters were blocked. The restrictions persisted even after the allocation of IDPs to compact settlements. The authorities established the Institute of so-called "masters," who were entrusted with overseeing each family, visitor, and movement. Consequently, guests were prohibited from visiting without their prior authorisation. This pressure endured even after August 8".

As she provided, the Security Service wanted to know who warned the population to escape the conflict zone: "In fact, no one warned the local residents, after suffering the bombardment and fire, it became evident that it was time to leave, as no one would protect them".

According to her assessment, the authorities did not inform the population about the evacuation, as their primary objective was to maximise the number of casualties to substantiate Russia’s aggression to the international community.

The Commission questioned Pridon Zoidze, the brother of the Shindisi hero, Roman Zoidze. As reported, the soldiers exhibited a lack of coordination during the August war, and the officers even attempted to demoralise the privates. According to the reporter, the tragedy of Shindisi could have been avoided; "however, no one appeared to care and they were abandoned".

He delivered the Book by Eter Zakariadze, the main character of which, currently living in emigration, is the soldier Ucha Guguchia, who survived the Shindisi battle; the Book provides the chronicles of the August war of 2008.

According to Zoidze, the then authorities endeavoured to maximise casualties among the military personnel and to have as many as possible armaments detonated, as it presented an excellent opportunity for money laundering. As he asserted, "their principle was that the war would justify everything".

The Government neglected the Shindisi heroes, lying decaying under the sun, and only by the attempts of the Catholic-Patriarch of Georgia, were their bodies reinterred. As he observed, the August war of 2008 was precipitated by the provocation of Saakashvili and his team. It presented them with a final opportunity to preserve their authority by subjecting a nation to blackmail in order to secure their own survival.

At the end of the sitting, the Commission members observed a minute of silence to pay tribute to Shindisi heroes and all, fallen for the homeland.