US EditionWW1 toxic compound sprayed on Georgian protesters, BBC evidence suggests
A BBC investigation found Georgia used bromobenzyl cyanide, a WWI chemical, in water cannons during protests, causing long-lasting symptoms in nearly half of surveyed victims.
- Last year, a BBC World Service investigation suggests Georgia used camite on protesters during mass demonstrations beginning 28 November 2024 in Tbilisi.
- Georgians flooded the streets after the ruling Georgian Dream party paused EU accession talks, amid laws narrowing free speech and fines up to $1,700 for road closures.
- Inventory material and whistleblowers indicate the Special Tasks Department listed chemicals UN1710 and UN3439 in 2019, while Lasha Shergelashvili and experts linked exposure to camite effects.
- Tbilisi authorities responded that the findings were absurd and police acted lawfully, while UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Alice Edwards urged investigation and more than 900 Georgian doctors demanded disclosure.
- If validated, experts say camite is far more potent than modern tear gas and its use could violate the Chemical Weapons Convention, while opposition parties and civil society urge Washington to press for independent probes.
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59 Articles
Georgia's chemical weapons scandal deserves Trump's attention
The Georgian government is facing outrage after a BBC investigation alleging that the government used World War I-era chemical toxins on protesters demonstrating against the government’s moves to bring the country closer to Russia. Georgians flooded the streets last year after the ruling Georgian Dream party declared it was halting the EU-Atlantic integration. The BBC’s findings point to a possibility that the Georgian government mixed the toxin…
In order to suppress anti-government protests in Georgia, the Kamit could be used, claims the BBC Media Corporation in its investigation. Georgian authorities deny the use of a dangerous substance and threaten journalists with lawsuits.
In 2024, Georgian authorities suppressed protests against the suspension of accession negotiations to the European Union. Bromobenzyl cyanide, also known as kamite, a chemical warfare agent from the First World War, may have been used against the demonstrators. This is the conclusion reached by BBC journalists in their investigation.
The party claims that the British broadcaster did not use 1% of the answers it provided to it before the publication of the article.
Georgian authorities would have used a World War I chemical agent to disperse protesters against the government in 2024.
The Georgian authorities reportedly used a chemical weapon dating from the First World War in 2024 to crack down on anti-government protesters. It is the camite, an obsolete and dangerous chemical agent. Georgia opened an investigation to assess this information, revealed this Monday in an investigation by the BBC. - Georgia accused of using a chemical weapon of the First World War on demonstrators (International).
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- 44% of the sources lean Left
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