Georgia used a chemical agent from World War I on protesters, evidence shows
Evidence acquired indicates that protestors in Tbilisi were subjected to the use of a chemical agent prohibited during World War One by Georgian police.
According to evidence found, Georgia’s security services allegedly deployed a chemical agent from World War One to scatter anti-government demonstrators in Tbilisi last year. The results suggest that camite, a highly irritating and outdated substance that was phased out about a century ago due to its harmful, long-lasting effects, may have been used.
According to witnesses, the water cannon deployed during the rallies in November and December of 2024 produced severe burning feelings that were unable to remove. Pediatrician and protester Dr. Konstantine Chakhunashvili stated that the water was burning and that the feeling “was worse when trying to wash it off.”
In a nation where joining the EU is a constitutional goal, thousands of people took to the streets when the government halted Georgia’s EU admission process, sparking widespread ire. Coughing, vomiting, headaches, and shortness of breath were among the chronic symptoms that many people struck by water cannons described, sometimes lasting weeks.
Nearly half of the 350 demonstrators Dr. Chakhunashvili polled reported symptoms lasting longer than 30 days, with several displaying irregular heart electrical activity. His research has been approved for publication by Toxicology Reports after undergoing peer review.
Water Cannon Filled With Unknown Chemical for Whistleblowers
The poison used was the same molecule that was tested internally in 2009, according to several high-level whistleblowers from Georgia’s Special Tasks Department’s riot police.
The agent was “probably ten times stronger” than traditional tear gas, according to former department weapons chief Lasha Shergelashvili, who was speaking from Ukraine.
We observed that the effect was not fading. We were unable to breathe freely even after washing with water or baking soda. The Shergelashvili Lasha
Water cannon vehicles were still stockpiled with the material until at least 2022, Shergelashvili stated, despite his advice that it should never be utilized.
The BBC was able to get an internal riot-police inventory that included two unlabeled chemicals: UN1710, which was recognized as a solvent called trichloroethylene, and UN3439, which included bromobenzyl cyanide, which was formerly known as camite.
Experts Determine That Camite Is the Most Likely Agent
After reviewing the data, chemical weapons expert Prof. Christopher Holstege came to the conclusion that the demonstrators’ symptoms were compatible with being exposed to camite.
“The clinical effects’ persistence is inconsistent with common agents like CS gas.”
Dr. Holstege
He cautioned that it would be a “dangerous” escalation to revive a chemical of this magnitude.
Developed during World War One, Camite was shelved by the 1930s. Riot-control agents are required under international law to have only short-term effects; a persistent substance would be considered a chemical weapon.
The allegations, according to UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Alice Edwards, present grave human rights issues.
“Populations should never be exposed to experimental weapons because the symptoms described are more severe than what is acceptable or temporary.”
Edwards Alice, She demanded thorough examinations of any possible torture or maltreatment.
The Georgia government rejected the results as “absurd” and “frivolous,” claiming that police had responded lawfully in reaction to “brutal criminals’ illegal actions.”
In the face of strong new regulations that target civil society, a perceived pro-Russian slant, and growing public ire over alleged election tampering, the protests have persisted, albeit in lower numbers. The ruling Georgian Dream party claims that recent legislative changes promote public welfare and denies promoting Russian interests.
