Camilla Jessen
Protesters report burns, breathing issues after water cannons.
A BBC investigation has revived serious concerns about the tactics used by Georgian authorities during the 2024 anti-government protests.
Dozens of demonstrators reported severe burning sensations, breathing problems and lingering illness. These symptoms are inconsistent with standard riot-control agents.
Officials have dismissed the claims, but evidence from former police insiders suggests otherwise.
Disturbing symptoms
Protests erupted in Tbilisi on November 28, 2024, after the ruling party announced it would suspend EU accession efforts.
Police responded with water cannons, pepper spray and CS gas.
But pediatrician Konstantine Chakhunashvili, who was sprayed by the cannons, said the liquid “felt like it was burning” and worsened when washed off.
Seeking clarity, he collected accounts from nearly 350 people. Almost half reported symptoms lasting more than a month with coughing, vomiting, headaches and fatigue.
He examined 69 of them, identifying a “significantly higher prevalence” of heart rhythm abnormalities.
His study was peer-reviewed and accepted by Toxicology Reports.
A banned chemical resurfacing
Local journalists and civil rights groups concluded that the water cannons must have contained more than water.
The Interior Ministry refused to identify the substance, but high-ranking police informants pointed to camite, a chemical agent once used by France in World War I and believed discontinued by the 1930s.
Former armaments department chief Lasha Shergelashvili told the BBC he had tested the same compound in 2009 for potential water-cannon use. He recalled struggling to breathe and being unable to wash the chemical off, calling it “probably 10 times stronger” than CS gas.
He said cannon vehicles continued to be loaded with the substance at least until 2022.
Another former senior officer confirmed the same product was used during the 2024 crackdown.
Georgian authorities insist the BBC’s findings are “absurd” and say police acted lawfully against “brutal criminals.”
But experts warn the evidence points to a powerful chemical agent capable of causing prolonged harm.
Sources: BBC, Toxicology Reports, News.ro
