Security Service Accuses Malkhaz Machalikashvili of Planning a Terrorist Attack

In late December 2017, 19-year-old Temirlan Machalikashvili died from a bullet wound to the head received during a special anti-terrorism operation in the Pankisi Gorge. The boy’s father, Malkhaz Machalikashvili, insists that his son had no involvement in terrorist activity and has demanded that the government recognize Temirlan as innocent. To draw attention to his cause, Malkhaz Machalikashvili, was actively involved in the late May/early June protests on Rustaveli Ave. in front of the Parliament building, standing alongside Zaza Saralidze, the father of high schooler David Saralidze who was murdered on Khorava St. on December 3, 2017.

Now, Machalikashvili is suspected of planning a terrorist attack, according to lawyer Keti Chutlashvili of the Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center who represents Machalikashvili.

Yesterday, the State Security Service announced that Malkhaz Machalikashvili had been summoned for questioning relating to a statement he made during the protests on Rustaveli Avenue two months ago, where he said he planned to enter the State Security Service headquarters and detonate a suicide bomb together with accomplices.

Machalikashvili arrived for questioning at 12 pm, and had left the building by 5:30 pm.

He spoke with reporters outside, saying, “They had a specific question about what I meant in my statement [on May 31] and I answered that it was the statement of a furious father whose son was killed and that I did not remember those words next day. I do not know why they summoned me three months after making this statement. I did not ask them.”

The still-grieving father added, “They have been carrying out unjust persecution against me since the murder of Temirlan. I do not care if they will detain me. It's the same hell for me outside prison.”

Chutlashvili says that Machalikashvili’s statement does not prove criminal intent and the investigation is unsubstantiated. Machalikashvili insists that the statement was made on a “hot heart” and there was never any real intention to act.

In early June, then-Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili met with Machalikashvili. The Prime Minister promised to investigate Temirlan’s case, but Machalikashvili was unsatisfied, saying, "the Investigation Commission set up in the Parliament does not mention the name of Temirlan at all...I demand the state to plead guilty and recognize my son’s innocence. Temirlan was killed and this is a reality. They committed a terrorist act in my house. I am not a terrorist, they are terrorists."

The Georgian State Security Service alleges that Temirlan Machalikashvili was involved in aiding Chechen terrorist Akhmet Chataev (Akhmed Chatayev) – killed in a shootout with Georgian police in November 2017. The State Security Service conducted an investigative raid in Pankisi in December in connection with Chataev and his accomplices, and claim that Temirlan Machalikashvili was shot when he attempted to activate a hand grenade against the special operatives. Malkhaz Machalikashvili claims his son is innocent and that the government should be held responsible for his death.

Machalikashvili previously stated that he believes the only way to reveal the truth is through public protests.

The Pankisi Gorge is a region of Georgia north of Telavi, populated mainly by the Kist people – ethnic Chechens who have lived in that part of Georgia since the mid-1800s.

By Samantha Guthrie

Photo: IPN

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