“For what happened on the night of June 20, the political responsibility is entirely mine,” former Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia and former Prime Minister, Giorgi Gakharia, stated at the session of the Investigative Commission Studying the Activities of the Regime and Political Officials of the Regime in 2003-2012.

According to Gakharia, no one violated any law.

“In every interview and official testimony, I have stated that for what happened that night, the political responsibility is mine. Regarding the attempt to suggest that I blamed something on police officers – not a single police officer violated the law. Every police officer had the right to use rubber bullets in self-defence according to the Law on Police. This is the most important thing.

I was not blaming police officers for anything; I have always defended them, and that is precisely why I have said that the political responsibility for this event is entirely mine.

Regarding the order, I want to be clear: I did indeed give the command to disperse the aggressive protest that escalated to a storming. I have always acknowledged this. Yes, I issued that order. The police officers who deployed rubber bullets were fully justified in doing so under the Law on Police; no laws were violated. It’s essential to recognize two distinct aspects here: the use of rubber bullets for self-defence and their use in the context of dispersing a protest. That is the crux of the matter,” Giorgi Gakharia affirmed.