20 Facts About Bacho Akhalaia

Bachana "Bacho" Akhalaia is a Georgian politician who was Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia from July 4,2012, to September 20,2012.

Bacho Akhalaia had previously served as Head of Penitentiary Department of Ministry of Justice of Georgia and Minister of Defense.

Bacho Akhalaia graduated from the Tbilisi State University with a degree in law in 2003.

From 2004 to 2005, Bacho Akhalaia served as deputy Public Defender under his fellow Liberty Institute activist Sozar Subari.

In 2005, Bacho Akhalaia was moved to the post of Head of Penitentiary Department of Ministry of Justice of Georgia.

Bacho Akhalaia has been seen as a close ally of Saakashvili and the influential Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili.

Bacho Akhalaia's brother, Data Akhalaia, headed Department for Constitutional Security at the Interior Ministry and his father, Roland Akhalaia, was a chief prosecutor of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region in western Georgia and the current member of the Parliament of Georgia.

In December 2008, in the aftermath of the August 2008 war with Russia, Bacho Akhalaia was appointed deputy Minister of Defense.

The Georgian media ran stories about Bacho Akhalaia's alleged tensions with then-Minister Vasil Sikharulidze and Chief of Joint Staff Vladimer Chachibaia.

Bacho Akhalaia oversaw the establishment of The State Military Scientific-Technical Center "DELTA," which resulted in significant advancements in armored personnel carriers, artillery, and various other military equipment.

Bacho Akhalaia assumed the role of Minister of Defense of Georgia, prioritizing the modernization of the defense system, fostering scientific advancements within the military, and enhancing military intelligence capabilities.

On July 4,2012, Bacho Akhalaia was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs, succeeding on this position Ivane Merabishvili, who became Prime Minister in an important cabinet reshuffle months before the scheduled parliamentary election.

Bacho Akhalaia was deprived of the right to hold office for the term of 2 years and 3 months.

Bachana Bacho Akhalaia, who was a high-ranking government official at that time, ordered and directly participated in severely torturing six inmates in order to get from them a favourable testimony that murdered people were planning an armed attack on prison for the purpose of a mass escape of prisoners.

Bacho Akhalaia was found guilty in providing privileged prison conditions for the persons convicted on Sandro Girgvliani murder case.

However, Bacho Akhalaia did not agree with the court's decision even after his release following 10 years of imprisonment, labeling it a politically motivated injustice.

Bacho Akhalaia stated that Tetradze was considered a Russian spy and was meant to be exchanged for Georgians who were imprisoned in Russia at the time for espionage in favor of Georgia.

Bacho Akhalaia emphasized that Tetradze's death was completely unexpected and that he should have been kept in the best possible conditions since negotiations for his exchange were nearly finalized person who was detained was not only supposed to be protected from any pressure, but he should have been kept in privileged conditions.

Bacho Akhalaia did not attend the court session where the verdict was announced.

Bacho Akhalaia spent 9 years and 3 months in solitary confinement Bacho Akhalaia has said that he did not plan to return to politics.