Georgian Security report: Failed coup and NGO persecution in Abkhazia (2023)

Georgian Security Service report 2023

The Georgian State Security Service presented its report to parliament for the year 2023. The report confirmed that in 2023, the country narrowly avoided a coup organized by foreign states. It also stated that the authorities in occupied Abkhazia restrict the activities of international organizations and the local non-governmental sector, controlling them at Russia’s behest.

Foreign destabilization attempt

According to the report, in October-December 2023, ‘a destabilization of the situation and the organization of civil unrest in Georgia were planned, with the ultimate goal of changing the government through violence.’ The plan was supposed to be executed ‘with the coordination and financial support of foreign countries.’

According to the State Security Service, several scenarios for unrest were considered, including barricading strategic objects and seizing government buildings. There were also plans to plant an explosive device in a pre-selected tent in a so-called ‘tent city’ and detonate it, leading to casualties among civilians and law enforcement representatives.”

“The implementation of this plan was planned in coordination with and financial support from foreign countries,” the report reads. “It was planned to use a large group of individuals of Georgian origin, involved in combat operations in Ukraine, and a portion of young people influenced by groups whose retraining took place near the Ukrainian-Polish border.

“The start date for the destructive processes was chosen to coincide with the anticipated release of the interim and final conclusions of the European Commission regarding the granting of candidate status to Georgia for EU membership.

“The expectations were based on the assumption that the European Commission’s report on candidate status would be negative, which would create fertile ground for societal unrest and subsequent disorder under the guise of attaching the slogan ‘pro-Russian’ to the government,” the report states.

The report also clarifies that these destructive groups interacted with Georgian media and attempted to use them for their own interests.

The report also states that the destructive groups incite anti-Western sentiments in the country, damage its image among strategic partners and Western institutions, attempt to polarize society, and worsen the country’s socio-economic situation.

According to the report, the State Security Service managed to neutralize the risks by coordinating its actions with other competent agencies and partner countries and taking ‘all necessary preventive measures.’ The State Security Service does not specify which foreign countries these groups collaborated with.

Individuals engaged in destructive activities were banned from entering the country, and other restrictive mechanisms provided by law were effectively utilized, the report says.

Occupied territories

As stated in the annual report, in 2023, 37 people were illegally detained in the direction of the occupied Tskhinvali region, and 26 people were detained in the direction of occupied Abkhazia.

The report also emphasizes that after the murder of Tamaz Ginturi near the occupation line in November of last year, the security situation has particularly worsened and become more complex.

The report also states that the failure to enforce the law in cases involving Irakli Kvaratskhelia, David Basharuli, Archil Tatunashvili, and Giga Otkhozoria, who were killed by occupying forces, creates a culture of impunity and encourages criminal actions.

According to the report, the process of borderization continued last year. ‘Illegal migration was observed in the direction of the occupied Tskhinvali region. Last year, 39 cases of borderization were recorded, and three cases were recorded in the direction of occupied Abkhazia,’ the report says.

According to the State Security Service, intentional discrimination against the ethnic Georgian population continues in the occupied territories:

“The local population was not allowed to receive education in their native language. A policy was actively pursued aimed at Russifying the regions and changing the ethnic identity of the population, its assimilation.”

International organizations and the non-governmental sector are persecuted in Abkhazia, writes the Georgian State Security Service

The report also discusses the internal situation in the occupied territories. According to information from the State Security Service, in 2023, attitudes and approaches towards international organizations and local non-governmental organizations operating in occupied Abkhazia sharply tightened.

In 2023, the occupation regime distinguished itself with disparaging statements towards international organizations and the non-governmental sector, accusing them of disrupting ‘social and political processes,’ the report says.

“According to the decision of the occupation regime, the activity of international organizations and UN agencies in the occupied region was substantially restricted. By blocking international organizations, the occupation regime sought to bolster Russia’s influence and minimize contacts between Abkhazians and Georgians,” the report states.

The occupation regime made changes to the rules governing the operations of international organizations to strictly control their interaction with the local non-governmental sector.

The State Security Service writes that international organizations coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the allocation of funds to local non-governmental organizations.

“On December 7, 2023, the occupation regime declared the regional director of USAID for the South Caucasus as persona non grata. According to the decision of the occupation regime, projects presented with partial or full financial support from USAID were no longer ‘approved.’ The acceptance of projects from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) was also suspended. It was prohibited to implement projects aimed at establishing contact between Georgians and Abkhazians.

“Funding for media projects aimed at covering ‘internal and external policy’ issues of occupied Abkhazia was restricted,” the annual report states.

The State Security Service also writes that in 2023, the occupation regimes of the occupied regions, with the assistance of the Russian Federation, actively sought to ‘position’ themselves on the international stage – efforts were observed in various countries.”