Five former officials in the United National Movement (UNM)-led government have been detained in relation to illegally taping and keeping videos showing the private life of citizens, which were leaked online last month.
This afternoon the Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia held a special press briefing announcing it had detained five former officials involved in the tape scandal regarding videos which were released online on March 11 and 14, 2016.
The Office laid charges against seven people who served in official duties in the UNM government. Two of the accused were charged in absentia; one was currently in hiding and the other had earlier fled Georgia.
The Prosecutor’s Office investigation revealed the ex-officials of Georgia’s Constitutional Security Department (CSD) and Ministry of Internal Affairs, selected well-known public figures or opposition leaders and illegally installed cameras in their apartments or temporary residences, and illegally filmed them as they carried out their private lives. The videos were recorded to allegedly blackmail the victims in the future.
The five detained men are:
Gigla Shioshvili, ex-deputy head of the Ministry’s Seventh Department of Old Tbilisi is on the run while Givi Katsitadze, former head of the Sixth Department of CSD was charged in absentia.
While speaking about the case, a spokesperson from the Prosecutor’s Office focused on three cases in 2011-2012 when the accused had illegally taped the private lives of two political leaders and one journalist.
The Office said it was still investigating those who were responsible for the online release of surveillance videos taped and kept by the seven accused.
If found guilty, the accused face five to eight years in prison.
A brief history of surveillance violations in Georgia