British MP James MacCleary has reacted strongly to the BBC’s investigative report, saying the allegation that Georgian authorities used a World War I–era chemical agent against protesters is “shocking.”
“This is really shocking news from Georgia. They are using WW1 chemical weapons on their own people. They are on the frontline of Russian aggression and authoritarianism. Vladimir Putin cannot get his way — we must stand up for Georgian democracy,” MacCleary wrote on X.
The BBC claims that evidence collected by its reporters suggests that Georgian authorities deployed a chemical agent dating back to World War I to disperse anti-government protesters last year. Demonstrators who opposed the government’s suspension of its EU accession bid reported additional symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, and prolonged vomiting.
The BBC World Service spoke with chemical weapons experts, whistleblowers from Georgia’s riot police, and medical professionals, concluding that the evidence indicates the use of a substance the French military once identified as “camite.”
