The materials published on 1 December 2025 as part of the BBC’s journalistic investigation contain shocking information indicating that Ivanishvili’s police may have used prohibited chemical weapons against the Georgian people.

The violent crimes committed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs forces against peaceful protesters during the events of November–December 2024 remain uninvestigated to this day. Not only has no one been held responsible, but Ivanishvili’s Prime Minister, Kobakhidze, publicly expressed gratitude toward the perpetrators of these crimes, including the then–Minister of Internal Affairs and other high-ranking officials who have since been sanctioned by the United States and the United Kingdom for serious human rights violations. Moreover, Ivanishvili’s President even awarded 11 of them with the Order of Honor.

Such cynical treatment of its own population by Georgian Dream is nothing new—nevertheless, the facts and evidence presented in the BBC documentary “When Water Burns” are shocking. According to the investigative journalists who produced the film, during the November–December 2024 protests, the regime may have used the chemical substance bromobenzyl cyanide, mixed into water cannon jets, against peaceful demonstrators. This substance was first used during World War I, and its use was banned after 1930 because it is far more dangerous than tear gas and leaves long-lasting effects on human health.

Generally, the use of chemical agents against large groups of people constitutes a clear violation of international human rights norms and standards and may amount to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment.

During the November–December 2024 events, investigative journalists from “Nodar Meladze’s Saturday” also prepared a special report detailing the serious violations committed during the use of special means by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The same problem was extensively described by the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association and other partner NGOs in their report titled “Human Rights Crisis in Georgia After the 2024 Parliamentary Elections.” For a whole year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has refused to disclose information about the chemical composition of the tear gas and water cannon mixtures, despite repeated requests.

However, following the release of the BBC film, along with the already identified serious human rights violations, a new legal issue arises. Specifically, it must be determined whether the use of the above-mentioned chemical substance — bromobenzyl cyanide — against protesters constitutes an act prohibited under the International Convention on Chemical Weapons.

In the coming days, we will appeal to relevant international organizations and institutions so that expert groups with appropriate competence and qualifications can be deployed to Georgia to uncover this criminal scheme fully.

At the same time, we demand a public answer to the question: What chemical substances were used by the police against peaceful protesters in November–December 2024?

Signatory Organizations:

Rights Georgia
Georgian Center for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GCRT)
Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association
Europe Foundation
Civil Idea
EECMD
Institute for Tolerance and Diversity (TDI)
European Orbit of Georgia
Partnership for Human Rights
Transparency International Georgia
Economic Policy Research Center
Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI)
Sapari
Women’s Initiative Support Group
Democracy Research Institute
Tbilisi Pride
Civil Movement for Freedom
Human Rights Center
Georgia’s Future Academy
Green Alternative
Democracy Defenders
European-Georgian Institute
International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED)
Social Justice Center
Civil Society Foundation