Tbilisi City Court sentence Soso Gogashvili

Tbilisi City Court Judge Arsen Kalatozishvili sentenced the former deputy head of the Security Service Soso Gogashvili to prison as a preventive measure.

The prosecutor’s office demanded imprisonment for him, and the defence demanded his release on bail of 50,000 GEL. The session was held in closed mode.

The former deputy head of the Security Service is charged with three counts: illegal purchase-storage-carrying of firearms, exceeding official authority, and tampering with personal information or personal data. 

According to the prosecutor’s office, Griffith has secret materials in the case of exceeding official authority. Therefore, it is possible that the substantive consideration of the case will be conducted in closed mode. 

As for the article on violation of personal information or personal data – we are talking about the complaints of 2 citizens of Russia, Konstantine Romanovski and Davit Adamia, on the basis of which Soso Gogashvili is arrested. 

The names of these two people were mentioned in one of the interviews aired on TV First. Journalist Nodar Meladze asked Gogashvili if these two people were Russian agents, to which Gogashvili replied that he had information about them. 

Konstantine Romanovski also sued Soso Gogashvili for causing moral damage.

As for the illegal acquisition, storage and carrying of weapons, Gogashvili ‘s defence says that there are 13 registered weapons in the name of the former deputy head of the Security Service, while the two unregistered weapons, which are disputed as illegal possession, were placed on him. 

Soso Gogashvili was arrested on July 16, at the dawn of a special operation. 

According to the lawyers, after the arrest, Soso Gogashvili had a health problem – he had a swollen cheek and injuries on his limbs. 

In this regard, the Special Investigation Service has started an investigation. Most likely, an examination will also be conducted. 

During the arrest, the houses of Gogashvili and people related to him were also searched. According to his son, phones, computers, tablets, and memory cards were taken from the houses. 

A few hours before his arrest, Soso Gogashvili wrote on Facebook that he had evidence of 2021 election fraud, which he handed over to the “relevant organization”. 

Soso Gogashvili left  Georgian Dream in October 2020. He worked as the deputy head of SUS from 2015-2018. In 2014, he was the head of the Geninspection of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Gogashvili led the special operation in the Pankisi valley, during which 19-year-old Temirlan Machalikashvili was killed.