The Georgian Dream issued a statement regarding a recent article published by the BBC.

"The BBC published an article which, in addition to several absurd, false pieces of information, includes an accusation against the Georgian Government: that the Ministry of Internal Affairs allegedly used a "chemical substance" against violent protestors during the illegal rallies. Evidently, the so-called media, which has become a propaganda tool of the deep state, has presented no facts to substantiate this serious accusation.

Moreover, all speculation is based on the opinions of specific individuals, among them doctor Chakhunashvili, who is one of the active participants in illegal rallies, whilst his family member, his father, Giorgi Chakhunashvili, personally participated in the October 4 `overthrow of the government process` and physically broke into the courtyard of the Georgian Presidential Palace.

Furthermore, the article mainly features interested parties: Gigauri, the accused Khasaia, the accused Shaishmelashvili, the convicted Bachiashvili, and other similar individuals.

The Georgian Dream communication service had active communication with the investigative journalist before the article was published. We prepared comprehensive answers to absolutely every question the BBC provided us with, and we meticulously and in detail satisfied the British media`s interest point by point. Given that this media outlet has recently been involved in several scandals, has repeatedly been proven to spread falsehoods, and has even seen a change in top management as a result, we set only two conditions at the beginning of our response: that they fully cover our position, and we offered to provide evidence for every single word we sent. In parallel, we demanded that, in adherence to high journalistic standards, all discussions presented in the article be based only on evidence. In return, we received a torrent of lies, severe accusations against the government which, as we noted, are built on the accounts of interested parties and, clearly, have no connection to reality.

It is well known to the public that several weeks ago, the BBC was embroiled in a scandal when the so-called media outlet broadcast a crudely edited interview with U.S. President Donald Trump, in which the context and content of the conversation had been distorted.

As a result of this manipulation, the broadcaster`s director-general and executive news director resigned from their positions, though this more resembled rolling out the red carpet for the U.S. President than accepting responsibility for a mistake.

The fact that the BBC has no moral or professional barrier to executing dirty orders and spreading lies is clearly visible from the article published today, and their management change reminds us of the changes of several Prime Ministers in Britain in recent years, which have not led to even superficial changes in that country, let alone fundamental ones. As a result, one government controlled by the Deep State replaced another.

Because an outlet once considered authoritative, which today has been turned into a propaganda weapon of informal governance, has publicly spread false accusations against the Georgian government and has not presented even a single piece of evidence in the article to substantiate these accusations; because the so-called ‘journalistic investigation’ built on lies is primarily based on the narratives of criminals and has nothing in common with reality; because the BBC received exhaustive answers to all questions and did not publish even 1% of the substantiated responses in the article; because this dirty propaganda material is an attempt to smear the Georgian government, the Georgian police and, most importantly, Georgian statehood, we have decided to initiate legal proceedings against the fake media outlet in international courts.

We will use every possible legal avenue to ensure that the so-called media, which spreads lies, is held accountable for disseminating dirty, false accusations", - reads the statement.