State Security Service arrests citizen for false terrorism alert

The Georgian State Security Service on Friday arrested a citizen for making a false report of explosives at a large shopping centre in the country's western city of Batumi last month. 

The state body said its  counter-terrorist units had carried out efforts at the mall on May 6 and confirmed absence of explosives at the location, adding the report had come as part of “dozens” of other false calls about explosives in public gathering places, shopping centres, educational institutions and international airports across the country at various times.

The body also said it had identified “specific countries, emails and IP addresses” linked with reports about possible terrorist attacks in Georgia, adding the investigation had determined that a “large part” of the reports had been sent from abroad.  

The Service said it was working to identify individuals and groups behind the calls, with the charge involving imprisonment from three to six years.