State security service claims “deliberate provocation” in opposition allegations on leak of soldier’s personal data

The Georgian state security service on Monday claimed “deliberate provocation” in recent allegations by an opposition figure and a media outlet over an alleged leak of personal information of servicemember Mikheil Kamkhadze from the country’s defence ministry archives and its sale to Russia, following the release of interim results of its investigation into the case. 

• Defence Ministry dismisses media, opposition claims on leak of servicemember’s personal data from its archives as “fake, absurd”

Responding to the allegations by Nika Melia, the head of the United National Movement opposition party, and the opposition-minded Mtavari Arkhi channel in early August, that the personal data of the former servicemember of the Georgian Defence Forces was found in the hands of the Russian military in the Ukrainian city of Lysychansk this month amid ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the state agency stressed “no data” had been leaked from the ministry. 

The service said Kamkhadze had been discharged from the armed forces in 2016 due to age limit, and his personal data - “in accordance with the domestic legislation” - had been sent to the Gldani district registration and conscription centre in Tbilisi, where he was registered. 

The investigation established that the personal data is intact and there is no evidence of any withdrawal of files or photocopying. In addition, no documents about Kamkhadze are preserved in the ministry of defence”, said the agency, noting the personal data of the former soldier that was found in Ukraine “has no connection with the files at the Gldani military service centre”. 

The chair of the United National Movement opposition party, Nika Melia, on August 9 spoke about a leak of personal information of a Georgian combatant from the archives of the ministry of defence of Georgia.Photo: Nika Melia's facebook page.

The agency said the files shown by Mtavari Arkhi were likely to represent “a file of documents personally collected by Kamkhadze himself in 2016, which he did not deny in his testimony”. 

In further details, the state agency stressed the materials shown by the media outlet were not identical to the documents about Kamkhadze saved in Gldani military registry “except for diplomas and certificates, which are not confidential, and, as Kamkhadze said, their copies are kept in his home”.

The agency further said several files broadcast by the opposition-minded channel “have never been included in the military personal data, as they belong to the post-retirement period” and added the investigation had established “none of the documents revealed by the media contained state secrecy”. 

“Based on the interim results of the investigation, the state security service has reason to state unequivocally that the mentioned [media] campaign is a deliberate provocation against the state, which directly serves the goal to discredit both the Georgian special services and the defence ministry”, said the agency. It also noted the final results of the investigation would be made public “in the near future”.