Former Minister of Defence Bacho Akhalaia arrived at the Central Criminal Police Department for questioning.

Speaking to journalists, he expressed deep shame that many people are currently imprisoned, while he admits he was watching the events unfold from the kitchen.

“I feel ashamed that I was not involved in anything, and unfortunately, that is true. I am very ashamed of this. On the other hand, if people think rationally, they should understand what kind of organisation was involved. Did Mr Paata Burchuladze and Levan Khabeishvili’s appeal require any organisation? Don’t they see for themselves where they live? Was someone needed to organise Murtaz Zodelava’s opinion formation, or was there any obvious organisation seen among people who turned out at the rally, or in any subsequent steps? In my view, this is a very straightforward matter: the regime simply refuses to acknowledge the simple truth that there are patriots in Georgia like Mr Paata, Murtaz, Levan, and others, who do not need anyone’s instructions or organisation to carry out a peaceful civil uprising,” Bacho Akhalaia stated.

Furthermore, he drew a comparison between the events of October 4 and April 9, 1989, which marked the brutal suppression of pro-independence protests in Tbilisi.

“Without exaggeration, I swear to my children, this was a peaceful civil uprising of the same magnitude as April 9,” he declared.

Regarding the audio recording released on October 4, Akhalaia stated, “The recording is 1000 per cent falsified.”

“Not only are the words and sounds not mine, but I have never addressed Mr Paata Burchuladze as ‘Paata’. He is my senior and respected friend. I always speak to him with humility; he is like a father figure to me. The relationship we have is completely different from what is depicted in that recording,” Bacho Akhalaia explained.

Additionally, he did not rule out the possibility of being arrested in connection with the October 4 events.

“This is just very simple, primitive propaganda. They have spent a great deal of resources over the past thirteen years to portray a few scarecrows, including myself, in this way. I know Mr Paata very well and have great respect for him; he is a close friend of our family. Murtaz is our neighbour. I believe they employed this primitive narrative in an attempt to suggest that it was not the sacrifice of passionate patriots, that we Georgians do not exist, that we lack the five, fifteen, or even a hundred individuals willing to sacrifice themselves. Instead, some people had to be coerced into acting as patriots. This is yet another effort to demean these remarkable individuals and the entire nation of Georgia. Do you know what a peaceful uprising truly means? Mr Paata and Mr Murtaz weren’t even holding anything in their hands, nor were they wearing masks or respirators. This was a peaceful uprising,” Bacho Akhalaia stated.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Bacho Akhalaia has been summoned as a witness for questioning and voice sampling as part of the criminal investigation into the events that broke out in Tbilisi on October 4.

On October 4, Imedi TV released an audio recording purportedly of a telephone conversation between Paata Burchuladze and Bacho Akhalaia. However, the authenticity of this recording has not yet been verified.