Several dozen residents of Georgia's Pankisi Gorge, which is predominantly inhabited by ethnic Chechens, took part in a "warning rally" outside the local office of the Georgian Interior Ministry in the village of Duisi. The attendees protested the "slander" and "illegal arrest" of five Kist Chechens during a special operation by the State Security Service (SGB) of Georgia on August 24.

The special services and the General Prosecutor's Office of the country accuse Magomed Machalikashvili, Yusuf Tsatiashvili, Gamza Bagakashvili, Ramaz Kavtarashvili and Ramaz Margoshvili, who are between 18 and 20 years old, of supporting the Islamic State terrorist organisation (which is banned in the Russian Federation) and preparing the explosion of a residential building in an unnamed country.

The State Security Service released video and audio recordings allegedly proving the guilt of the suspects.

However, as the protesters said, all the video and audio evidence were in fact "clearly fabricated" or presented to the Georgian public "with a deliberately incorrect translation from Chechen." The participants held posters with an inscription in Georgian "We demand the release of our prisoners."

If their demands are not met, the residents of Pankisi further threaten larger-scale protests not only in the Pankisi Gorge but also in Tbilisi.

Five suspects have already been sentenced by the Tbilisi City Court to two months of preliminary detention. The first hearing on the criminal case under the article "Membership in a terrorist organisation" is planned to be held in October this year.

Earlier it was reported that on August 24, the State Security Service of Georgia detained five Chechens, natives of the Georgian Pankisi Gorge. They were suspected of swearing allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist organisation.

The Pankisi Gorge is a small enclave, territorially part of the Akhmeta municipality, located in the north of Georgia. Ethnic Chechens live in 16 of the region’s settlements.