Interior Ministry may request aid from partners to investigate private footage leak

The Georgian Interior Ministry is very likely to request help from foreign partners to investigate leak of a private life footage, featuring Georgian Dream MP Eka Beslia.

Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia stated today that the reason is that “it is always hard to investigate cybercrimes.”

The investigation is underway. If needed – as cybercrime is not easy to investigate – we will request help from our partners,” Gakharia stated.

Gakharia stated that it is important to “find the source” of the footage and the person who decided to make it viral.

The possession and distribution of private footage are such grave crimes that we [the government and the ministry] must do our best to uncover everyone behind the offences and punish them,” Gakharia says.

He stated that “if any compromise made” in such cases and if the initiators or spreaders of such footage are equally punished, it will be hard to combat the crime.

• Seventeen individuals were detained for the possession and spread of the private life footage of Beselia.
• The detention came shortly after the statement of Beselia on 28 January that footage of her private life recorded under the United National Movement leadership had gone viral.
•  Three out of 17 detained were sent to pre-trial detention, while 14 have been released on bail.
• Beselia says that it is more important the police to uncover those who were the first who released the footage.