(MENAFN) Reports indicate that Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party announced on Monday its intention to pursue legal action against the BBC over claims that authorities used a chemical agent to disperse protests last November.

“We have decided to initiate legal proceedings against the BBC, a fake media outlet, in international courts,” the party said in a statement posted on a US-based social media platform.

A BBC article published on Sunday suggested that Georgian authorities deployed a “World War One-era chemical weapon” called “camite” during the demonstrations. In response, the Georgian Dream party described the report as containing “absurd and false” claims derived from the opinions of “specific individuals” and “interested parties.” “Naturally, this so-called media outlet, which has been turned into a propaganda weapon of the ‘Deep State’, has presented not a single fact to substantiate this grave accusation,” the statement added.

The party also claimed that its communications team had been in contact with the journalist before publication but that the BBC failed to include “even 1%” of their responses. Authorities argued that the article was “dirty propaganda material” intended to tarnish the reputation of the Georgian government, police, and state institutions.

The protests in Georgia in November 2024 erupted after the ruling party announced a pause in the country’s EU accession talks until 2028, reports state.

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