Georgia: Akhalaya calls accusations of torturing special agents groundless

On August 13, at the session of the Tbilisi City Court, Bacho Akhalaya, former Minister of Internal Affairs (MIA), delivered his final speech. He calls the allegations of using torture against special fighters groundless and considers himself and the other defendants in the case not guilty.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the trial in the case against the former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs considers an episode about use of torture against the fighters of the MIA's special troops in 2012. Apart from Bacho Akhalaya, the prisoners' dock contains seven staff members of the MIA and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Georgia.

When delivering his final speech, Bacho Akhalaya said that the actions performed with regard to special fighters, classified by the prosecutors as torture, were actually part of the training course within ranger training, organized by the MIA at the time when the Ministry was led by Bacho Akhalaya.

The former Minister states that he and other defendants are not guilty. In his opinion, they "are the most successful military men in Georgia" and they are on the prisoners' dock just because of him, the "Georgia-Online" reports.

At that stage, the judicial debate has been over, and the judge "left the room to make a decision." This was reported by a representative of the Tbilisi City Court. According to his information, the procedure usually takes several days, the "News-Georgia" reports.

Let us remind you that the yesterday's court session was held against a clash between supporters, opponents of Bacho Akhalaya and bailiffs. As a result of the conflict, three persons were detained.