1/ 🧵Col. Irakli Shaishmelashvili, former head of the Operational Planning Division in the Special Tasks Department, spoke to TV Pirveli about his decision to resign and the violent dispersal of protests. By the time the interview aired, he had already left Georgia with his family.
Comments
"I could no longer endure it, not physically, emotionally, or morally," he said.
"The hardest part was realizing that after years of believing my duty was to protect others' safety, I now had to protect my own children in a country where I might not find justice."
"Protests usually involve two groups: so-called 'Robocops' and arrest squads. But I’ve seen people in jeans in the footage—they are definitely not officers from the Special Tasks Department."
"No officer acts without orders. If there’s no specific directive to pursue someone, it won’t happen. Individual cases of excessive force may occur, but systemic, widespread, and constant abuse? That’s deliberate."