The US Helsinki Commission has called on the US government and democratic allies to urgently verify reports that Georgian authorities used a World War I–era chemical agent against peaceful protesters during last year’s demonstrations in Tbilisi.
In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, Commission Chairman Senator Roger Wicker, Co-Chairman Representative Joe Wilson, Ranking Member Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and Ranking Member Representative Steve Cohen described the emerging evidence as “deeply disturbing” and said it raises serious questions about Georgia’s human rights commitments.
“Recent findings that Georgian Dream used a chemical weapon against peaceful protestors last year are deeply disturbing,” the statement reads. “These chemical attacks left victims with burns and long-term health complications and are a violation of the human rights commitments that Georgian authorities are obliged to uphold. Such behavior places Georgian Dream in league with corrupt rulers in Russia and China who fear their own people and will stop at nothing to maintain their grip on power.”
The lawmakers urged the US and its partners to investigate the allegations and “impose relevant sanctions” on those found responsible for the use or authorization of the agent, which the BBC’s recent investigation linked to the WWI-era chemical “camite”.
The statement also renewed calls for Congress to pass the bipartisan MEGOBARI Act, a bill designed to give the US State Department additional tools to support democratic freedoms in Georgia and respond to human rights abuses.
“We continue to urge our colleagues in Congress to pass the MEGOBARI Act, bipartisan legislation that would provide the State Department with additional tools to support the Georgian people’s struggle for freedom,” the Commission added.
The comments come amid intense international scrutiny following the BBC’s reporting, which alleged that Georgian riot police may have mixed an obsolete chemical agent into water cannons used during mass protests in November–December 2024. Georgia’s government has denied using any banned chemical, though it has acknowledged that water cannons did contain a substance whose composition is now under investigation.
