Authorities in Georgia reportedly deployed a century-old chemical weapon to disperse anti-government demonstrators in Tbilisi last year, according to an investigation by the BBC.
Protesters, demonstrating against the government’s suspension of its European Union accession bid, described a burning sensation from water cannons that could not be washed off, along with prolonged symptoms including coughing, vomiting, and shortness of breath.
The BBC spoke to chemical weapons experts, whistleblowers from Georgia’s riot police, and medical professionals, all pointing to the use of bromobenzyl cyanide also known as camite a chemical developed by France during World War One. The compound had been largely abandoned by the 1930s due to its long-lasting effects, with conventional riot-control agents like CS gas replacing it.
Dr Konstantine Chakhunashvili, a paediatrician and protester, conducted a survey of nearly 350 demonstrators and found that almost half experienced symptoms lasting more than 30 days. Medical examinations of 69 participants revealed “significantly higher prevalence of abnormalities” in heart electrical activity. His findings have been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication in Toxicology Reports.
Whistleblowers from the Special Tasks Department Georgia’s riot police confirmed the chemical had been used in water cannons. Lasha Shergelashvili, a former head of the department’s weapons unit, described testing the compound in 2009 and warned against its deployment due to its intensity and persistence.
The BBC obtained a 2019 inventory from the riot police listing two unnamed chemicals, later identified as trichloroethylene (a solvent) and bromobenzyl cyanide, which experts believe were combined for use in the water cannons. Professor Christopher Holstege, a leading toxicology and chemical weapons expert, concluded that the clinical effects observed are consistent with exposure to camite, and not conventional crowd-control agents.
Under international law, chemical agents used for riot control must be proportionate and have temporary effects. UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Alice Edwards said the prolonged symptoms and severity described by protesters “are beyond what would be considered temporary and acceptable” and warrant investigation under the rubric of torture or other ill-treatment.
The Georgian government dismissed the BBC’s findings as “deeply frivolous” and insisted police acted lawfully against what it described as “illegal actions of brutal criminals.”
The protests, sparked on 28 November 2024 by the government’s EU suspension announcement, continue nightly in Tbilisi, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of officials they accuse of election rigging, pro-Russian alignment, and oppressive legislation. The ruling Georgian Dream party denies any pro-Russian bias, maintaining that recent laws serve the public interest.