Georgia to confront BBC over disputed chemical agent claims
Georgian authorities plan to file a complaint with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the coming days over a recent investigation suggesting the possible use of chemical agents against protesters in late 2024, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili told reporters on Thursday.
“In the coming days, we will submit a complaint to the BBC’s internal regulatory body. Let’s see how this procedure unfolds. We hope that at this level, the BBC will acknowledge that the report was fabricated and manipulative,” Papuashvili said, according to News.Az, citing Georgian media.
He added that Georgia would pursue the matter through other channels if the BBC does not recognize the report as falsified.
The controversy stems from a BBC investigation published on December 1, 2025, which suggested that a World War I-era chemical agent, known as camite, may have been used against demonstrators in Tbilisi.
Tbilisi officials strongly rejected the claims, accusing the BBC of spreading false information and pledging to take the matter to an international court. A government investigation concluded that no chemical agents were deployed against protesters. However, it confirmed that substances hazardous to human health were stored at a Georgian special forces base, though it remains unclear whether they were ever used.
Critics of the ruling Georgian Dream party have questioned the government’s internal probe and are calling for international oversight.
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