Georgian Dream sues BBC over alleged false reporting
The ruling Georgian Dream party has announced it will take legal action in international courts against the BBC, accusing the broadcaster of spreading “serious and baseless accusations” against the Georgian government, News.Az reports, citing Georgian media.
The party claims the report, which alleges the Ministry of Internal Affairs used a World War I–era chemical substance to disperse anti-government protests, relied solely on “interested parties” with no connection to reality. “Today, the BBC published an article containing numerous absurd and false details… All of their assumptions are based on the opinions of specific individuals, including participants in illegal protests,” the party said.
Georgian Dream said it had provided the BBC with “full, detailed answers” before publication and expected the government’s position to be fully reflected. “Instead, we received a torrent of lies and grave accusations built solely on stories provided by interested parties,” the statement said.
The party also criticized the BBC for its past editorial controversies and called its current reporting “a tool of informal governance propaganda.” “Because this propagandistic material is an attempt to smear the Georgian government, the police, and statehood itself, we have decided to initiate legal action in international courts,” Georgian Dream added.
Earlier, the BBC published an investigative report claiming evidence indicated the Georgian government used a chemical agent known as “camite,” allegedly used by the French military in World War I, to disperse protesters demonstrating against the suspension of the EU accession process. Protesters reportedly experienced burning eyes, shortness of breath, coughing, and vomiting that “persisted for weeks.”
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