Among the accused are former Minster for the State Security Vakhtang Koutateladze, his deputy Semyon Nozadze and former head of MSS Anti-terrorism Centre Levan Kenchadze. Vakhtang Koutateladze resigned 31 October 2001 following a row involving an independent TV company Roustavi-2. Not so long before this Koutateladze’s subordinates forced their way inside the company’s offices and announced the start of the criminal proceedings against the company on accusation of tax evasion, having ordered everybody to lie "face down". After this incident there were demonstrations in defence of the freedom of speech in Tbilisi lasting several days. It seemed that nothing could disturb the peace and quiet of the retired general’s and his subordinates’ lives. However, 22 November last year
Djoumber Patiashvili, leader of the Unity opposition movement known for its pro-Russian agenda, suddenly accused state security services leadership of secret introduction of MSS agents into his organisation and also into other political parties, non-governmental, religious and national organisations. As a proof Patiashvili produced a 24-page secret work plan of MSS Anti-terrorism Centre for 2002. According to Patiashvili he received the document from a stranger who introduced himself as a security services executive. The Unity movement leader demanded that the Enquiry Commission of the Georgian Parliament investigate how true the document was to the real plans of the Centre and also if MSS has a right to control political parties’ and NGOs’ activities. The Commission was created and now,
several months later, enough evidence has been collected to instigate the criminal proceedings. Head of the Enquiry Commission Mikhail Osadze referred to the Georgian Law on investigative work which bans secret participation in the
activities of officially registered non-governmental, political and religious organisations. The exception is the case, whereby an organisation is planning to overthrow constitutional order of Georgia, promote war and violence, inflame relations between different social and ethnic groups, and also when organisation’s activities undermine independence and territorial integrity of the country. However, even in these cases the security services must first obtain a warrant from the Prosecutor General. Former MSS and Anti-terrorism Centre leadership did not have such sanctions, which was confirmed by five senior MSS officers, former employees of the Centre and Prosecutor General Nougzar Gabrichidze. The Parliamentary Commission established that between 1999 and 2001 the Anti-terrorism Centre carried out operational work with the help of their agents in various organisations. The Head of the Commission
Mikhail Osadze refused flatly to name them but assured that the Centre’s officials broke the law on many occasions. At the same time the Head of the Commission removed all the suspicion from the President Edouard Shevardnadze of sanctioning the intrigues of the security services. According to Osadze, head of state knew nothing about it.
Now in Georgia everybody is wondering what will happen next. Not once such high-ranking retired bureaucrats have yet been punished in the country. What will Shevardnadze decide? Prosecutor General’s Office’s actions will directly depend on this decision. But whatever the outcome of the row, it gives a small hope (not confidence, however) that maybe in the future the security services would drop the KGB style and work within the regulations of the law.