BBC rejects Georgian demand to remove chemical attack investigation

The BBC has refused to comply with a demand from Georgian authorities to remove an investigation alleging the possible use of chemical agents against demonstrators in Tbilisi.

The broadcaster’s position was outlined in a comment to the Georgian television channel Formula, News.Az reports, citing Georgian media.

“In accordance with our established complaints procedure, we confirm that the complainant has already received responses to his questions. We stand by the journalism presented in the BBC Eye documentary ‘BBC Eye: When Water Burns: The Fight for Georgia’, as well as our independent investigative reporting on the response of the Georgian authorities to protests in Tbilisi,” the BBC said.

The investigation, published on 1 December 2025, suggested that camite, a chemical agent dating back to the First World War, may have been used against protesters in the Georgian capital. Georgian authorities rejected the findings, describing the publication as “defamatory” and “politically motivated”.

On 15 January, the ruling party Georgian Dream submitted an official complaint to the BBC, demanding the removal of the investigation and all related materials. The party also sought an apology, citing claims of disproportionate police force and references to the party’s honorary chairman, Bidzina Ivanishvili, in connection with decisions on dispersing protests.

Georgian Dream has said that if the BBC refuses to uphold the complaint, it will appeal to the British media regulator Ofcom and subsequently to UK courts. Officials have not ruled out taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

News.Az 

By Emil Kaziyev