The Investigative Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia has searched the homes of two researchers - Sopo Gelava and Eto Buziashvili from the US-based think tank, the Atlantic Council, just two days before parliamentary elections. Their electronic devices were confiscated.

Gelava and Buziashvili have recently authored several reports on Russian disinformation operations in Georgia.

Atlantic Council’s vice president for technology programs and strategy, as well as the senior director of the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) Graham Brookie said that the Atlantic Council is deeply concerned about this development.

As he told the Accent, "Atlantic Council trusts that Georgian authorities will provide more clarity on their actions, ensure the safety and security of Sopo Gelava and Eto Buziashvili, return their property, and allow them to continue their contributions to Georgian democracy."

Graham Brookie emphasize the impartiality of his Georgian colleagues and the importance of their work.

"On the morning of October 24, officials from the Investigative Service of Georgia's Ministry of Finance raided the homes of two staff members of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab in Tbilisi, Georgia, confiscating their electronic devices. They were not detained and have not been charged by Georgian authorities.

The Atlantic Council is deeply concerned about this development and its impact on our staff’s work shortly before Georgian elections. Our Georgian colleagues, Sopo Gelava and Eto Buziashvili, are engaged in independent, non-partisan work aimed at defending and strengthening democracy from those who would undermine it in online spaces, including research related to foreign influence efforts, the targeting of marginalized communities, and other online harms.

We trust that Georgian authorities will provide more clarity on their actions, ensure the safety and security of our staff, return their property, and allow them to continue their contributions to Georgian democracy.

The Atlantic Council has long been a champion of a democratic and independent Georgia and its aspirations to join the institutions of the transatlantic community. The Digital Forensic Research Lab publishes research that highlights the importance of discourse and objective information as a foundation of free, open, and democratic countries.

The Atlantic Council will continue its work in Georgia in the spirit of its mission of shaping the global future together with partners and allies. We will continue to monitor the situation closely," Graham Brookie said.

The case is being investigated under three different criminal articles, namely money laundering, fraud and tax evasion.

The Ministry’s service stated that the searches were related to the so-called fraud call centers.

"This is typical psychological pressure, intimidation before elections. These are psychological manipulations that doesn't work on the Georgian population and it won't work again," the President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili said.

"Let's wait for the investigation, this information may be very interesting for the public," Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists who were interested in the reason for the series of searches.