Georgia’s prosecutors detain journalist Chubinidze in treason case
Prosecutors allege that his claims about a secret territorial transfer to Azerbaijan obstructed border work, and plan to seek pretrial imprisonment.
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Prosecutors allege that his claims about a secret territorial transfer to Azerbaijan obstructed border work, and plan to seek pretrial imprisonment.
Georgia’s Prosecutor General’s Office said on 22 October that it had detained journalist Domenti (Dito) Chubinidze under a court ruling and would charge him with treason, specifically sabotage. The Asaval-Dasavali journalist faces up to four years in prison if convicted over statements prosecutors allege interfered with the state’s border work.
The case concerns claims about the Davit Gareji monastery complex, a longstanding point of dispute between Georgia and Azerbaijan. The disagreement includes where the border runs and which maps should be used to establish it.
Prosecutors allege that, since February 2026, Chubinidze repeatedly spread false claims through media outlets and social platforms that Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze had secretly agreed to transfer part of Davit Gareji to Azerbaijan. They allege that his actions obstructed a state agency and the government commission responsible for defining and marking the border, amounting to sabotage against the state’s legitimate interests.
The territorial-transfer allegation had been made by Lazare Jorbenadze in an interview published weeks before his death in April 2026. He claimed that Kobakhidze had signed a secret agreement with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to cede part of the complex. OC Media reported that Jorbenadze provided no specific evidence for that allegation.
Prosecutors also allege that Chubinidze portrayed Jorbenadze’s death as a revenge-motivated murder to make the territorial-transfer claim appear credible. The prosecution has said Jorbenadze died by suicide. Chubinidze has said he does not believe that explanation.
The Prosecutor General’s Office said no agreement had been reached with Azerbaijan on the border in the Davit Gareji section. According to the office, setting the border requires an international treaty or agreement followed by approval from Georgia’s parliament, while negotiations fall exclusively to the government border commission. Prosecutors said this procedure rules out a unilateral territorial transfer by the prime minister.
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The investigation is continuing. Separately from the detention already carried out, prosecutors said they would ask the court to order Chubinidze’s imprisonment while the case proceeds.
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