Prepared by Messenger Staff
Ivanishvili's Former Bodyguard Named Deputy Head of State Security Service
Giorgi Bakhuashvili, reportedly a former personal bodyguard of Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, has been appointed deputy head of Georgia's State Security Service under Geka Geladze. He held the post of deputy interior minister for less than a month before the move.
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze signed the decree on July 6, pulling Bakhuashvili out of the Interior Ministry just weeks after he took over as deputy minister on June 10. Before that, he ran the ministry's General Inspection Department.
His career has largely unfolded inside Georgia's security apparatus. He spent a decade as a senior officer with the Special State Protection Service, then joined the Interior Ministry's Security Police Department in 2017, rising from inspector to division head by 2023. He also did a brief stint in 2021 as senior inspector in the ministry's Kakheti division.
Multiple outlets have described him as one of Ivanishvili's longtime bodyguards, though it's unclear exactly when that role began or ended.
RFE/RL's Georgian Service reported that he was a regular fixture at Ivanishvili's side during public appearances, including the 2024 parliamentary vote and the 2025 local elections. At a 2024 event in Tbilisi, he was photographed checking the water glass placed at Ivanishvili's podium before his speech.
Minor Sentenced Over Torture, Group Violence Linked to Neo-Nazi Ideology
Tbilisi City Court sentenced a minor to 14 years and six months in prison for torture committed by an organized group motivated by intolerance, and for organizing and participating in group violence. The Prosecutor General's Office announced the verdict on July 7.
The sentence was automatically reduced by a third under Georgia's juvenile justice code, leaving a final term of nine years and eight months. The defendant's identity has not been disclosed.
Prosecutors said the minor held "fascist-Nazi ideology" and helped organize violence and torture against people whose lifestyles the group deemed unacceptable, including other minors, subjecting victims to physical and psychological abuse.
The charges included two counts of torture committed by an organized group, an added charge for committing the same offense against a minor, and organizing and participating in group violence. The date of arrest has not been revealed.
Georgian police have arrested at least 15 minors in recent months, including in January and March, over alleged involvement in neo-Nazi and radical fascist groups accused of subjecting victims of various ages, including minors, to "extreme cruelty."
