Day: February 2, 2026

The case of Tamar Mearakishvili

The de facto authorities of the occupied Tskhinvali region claim that local activist Tamar Mearakishvili cooperated with Georgian intelligence services and was engaged in espionage activities.

The so-called South Ossetian state security committee claimed that Mearakishvili had been “recruited to carry out subversive tasks”, although these allegations have not been independently verified.

According to the de facto KGB, Mearakishvili was responsible for the “collection and transfer of information posing a threat to the Republic of South Ossetia and the Russian Federation”. The agency claims she gathered data on politicians, law enforcement officers, Russian servicemen, as well as their deployment and the movement of military equipment.

The statement by the occupation authorities also alleges that Mearakishvili secretly recorded conversations with officials and established close contacts with them in order to “obtain information for the execution of subversive tasks”.

SJC: ‘Expulsion of Tamar Mearakishvili sends dangerous signal to Georgians living in South Ossetia’

The Social Justice Centre describes this as political repression and a dangerous precedent.

The agency also places particular emphasis on Mearakishvili’s participation in training sessions and seminars abroad organised by non-governmental organisations. According to the occupation authorities, she “represented the South Ossetian side but distorted information about internal political processes”, thereby allegedly discrediting the “sovereignty and independence” of the de facto government.

The KGB further stated that the criminal case is at its final stage and warned that Mearakishvili’s “accomplices, both inside and outside the republic, will be identified and held accountable”.

Opinion: ‘Tbilisi did not do enough to support activist Tamar Mearakishvili’

Head of the Center for Social Justice comments on the arrest of a Georgian activist in Tskhinvali

The case of Tamar Mearakishvili