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 heard the accounts on the Kintsvisi special operation introduced by Nikoloz Goguadze and Zaza Gvimradze.

As Nikoloz Goguadze has indicated, since the establishment of the “National-Religious Movement” on May 11, 2011, law enforcement authorities have engaged in intimidation towards the members of the organisation, employing threats of physical destruction.

According to him, the organization members found their shelter from threats in Kintsvisi Monastery, where 24 persons were detained during the special operation on May 26.

As per the reporter, Megis Kardava and the special operation forces seemed to be confused during the operation, as they had the intention to eliminate the detained persons. As he observed, the moment the clergy intervened in the protection of the detained individuals, the special operation forces physically assaulted them.

All the detained individuals have endured severe torture and beatings, commencing from the Monastery and subsequently escalating to the Kareli Police Department, Tbilisi Police Department, and the Gldani Prison.

Within the Tbilisi Police Department, following instances of torture and threats of violence against their family members, the detained individuals “confessed” to the conspiracy to overthrow the government.

“During my incarceration in the Tbilisi police department, we endured prolonged torture, resulting in the fracture of our fingers. The scrap extractor was used to puncture my nails, causing severe pain and rendering me unable to bear weight on my feet. No one expected me to survive, even the prison personnel refused to accept me, fearing I would die in prison”, - he reported.

As Goguadze noted, all the arrested persons were exposed to severe pressure for the false testimony against the Eminence Iobi for creating the ground of his arrest or “denigration”. Two of the detained individuals, shortly after their release, succumbed to their injuries sustained during torture.

Zaza Gvimradze also provided his explanations to the Commission about the criminal case of the Kintsvisi special operation. According to the informant, the law enforcement officers in the Tbilisi police department exerted pressure on the arrested individuals, compelling them to provide false testimonies against Eminence Iobi, alleging that the Metropolitan and the Patriarchy’s clergymen had provided the arrested individuals with weapons to support the rally on May 26.

The Public Defender Giorgi Tugushi was ignoring the facts of torture of the prisoners when inspecting the Gldani prison, and after he was appointed as the Judiciary, Probation and Legal Aid Minister, he ordered to expunging of the video footage of the cells. As he noted, he still has to address the health issues due to the injuries he sustained while in prison: “Justice shall be restored unequivocally, and torture and inhumane treatment shall never be again tolerated in Georgia”.

The Commission convenes the next sitting on Wednesday, June 11.