Georgia calls military volunteers who fought in Ukraine in for questioning

This information was reported by the Georgian outlet Echo of the Caucasus and confirmed by the military volunteers on social media.

A Georgian military volunteer Nadim Khmaladze posted on Facebook that he has been charged with terrorism and attempting a coup d'état.

“I, Nadim Khmaladze, am accused of terrorism and a coup d'état. How shocking is that?” he wrote.

Khmaladze also told the outlet Batumelebi that two other Georgian military volunteers, Vazha Tsertsadze and Lasha Chigladze, have been summoned for questioning and face the same charges.

Khmaladze said, “I got a call from an unknown number. The caller informed me that I was being summoned for interrogation. I said I would only attend if a judge was present. The caller then suggested, ‘Sign a refusal to be interrogated, and we’ll ask the judge for permission to question you this way.’”

Khmaladze added, “They’re trying to intimidate us.”

“While I was fighting in Ukraine, we were labeled as criminals. Last year, during the March 9 protests, I was arrested without cause but was later released. They told me they couldn't detain me with blood and had to let me go under administrative detention. Their goal was to neutralize us,” says Nadim Khmaladze.

He suspects that the order for his arrest might have come directly from the Kremlin.

“There is a case against us, Georgian military volunteers, in Russia, and we were sentenced in absentia,” he adds.

Khmaladze said that Lasha Chigladze was interrogated under the same charges two days ago and anticipates that other Georgian military volunteers will also be summoned for questioning.

Chigladze, who fought in Ukraine last year and received a medal for bravery, is now under investigation.

The pro-government Imedi TV channel reports that Chigladze is being investigated for conspiracy to overthrow the government and preparing terrorism. This case has been classified as secret.

Chigladze's lawyer, Lasha Tkesheladze, has called the case “directly political.”

• Russia's Southern District Military Court has recognized the Georgian National Legion as a terrorist organization and banned its activities in the country. The Georgian Legion has been fighting in Ukraine since 2014. It has about 1,300 soldiers and is subordinated to the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine. More than 50 Georgian soldiers have been killed in the fighting.