Georgian IS supporters make video address
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, November 25
A video address to the Georgian people in the name of the radical Islamic State (IS) group, active in Syria and Iraq, has been released on the Internet, in which four Georgian-speaking armed men call on local Muslims to join the IS and threaten Muslim clerics.
“I would like to address the faithless people living in Georgia that have been fighting Islam for a long time. Everybody who has acted against Islam, no matter in Iraq or Afghanistan, will be judged by God’s law.
“God is very strict; therefore we call on you to stop persecuting Muslims. Your actions against Muslims will not remain unanswered. Everybody will be held accountable for it,” the men said.
The men threatened the “faithless” people with beheading and stressed that not much time was left until the creation of a Caliphate in Georgia.
One fighter directly threatened Muslim Khojas and Muftis living in Adjara, Georgia’s western seaside region, accusing them of misleading people.
“You are not Muslims; you follow Tahuti and the people also follow your path. Are not you afraid of Allah who has created you by using a blood drop? You will die and appear before Allah. You will pay for what you have done. Be afraid of Allah but not the dirty leaders, don’t be afraid of their orders you fulfil without hesitation,” the fighter said.
The video has been published on sendvid.com.
One of the fighters addressing the Georgian people in the video released on behalf of Islamic State is Khvicha Gobadze from the Adjara region.
As his father Ilia Gobadze told the media, his son went to Turkey to find a job there two months ago.
In his interview, the man said that he was against terrorism. However, he justified killings carried out in the name of protecting religions and homeland. He stated that IS' rule would benefit the world, including Georgia.
The video was released a day after the detention of Davit Borchashvili, from Georgia’s Muslim populated Pankisi Gorge. He was detained on November 22 at Tbilisi's Shota Rustaveli International Airport for his alleged connection with IS.
Borchashvili’s family members also claim that he went to Turkey to work there.
Borchashvili confirms he was in Syria, but he says he fought there on behalf of the Free Syria Army, one of the militia groups supported by the West and against both the Islamic State and the Syrian government.
The Georgian State Security Service said that an investigation has been launched over the video. It also called and requested media outlets not to circulate “this video footage containing threats”.
