Country Reports on Terrorism 2012

2012 Terrorist Incidents: The year was marked by the discovery of an improvised explosive
device (IED) attached to the car of a locally employed staff member of the Israeli Embassy in
Tbilisi on February 13. No injuries were reported, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs was able
to successfully neutralize the IED. The discovery of the IED coincided with similar incidents, on
the same day, in which Israeli diplomats were targeted in Thailand and India. These attacks were
linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Qods Force.
In August, an armed confrontation with suspected violent Islamist extremists from Chechnya
occurred in the Lopota Gorge region of Georgia. The Georgian government initially did not
classify the confrontation as a terrorist incident, but in November, the newly-elected government
reopened an investigation into the events surrounding the attack.
Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Georgia amended legislation on
technological terrorism and cyber terrorism. The United States, Georgia, and Armenia
participated in cross-border exercises that successfully demonstrated the Governments of
Georgia and Armenia’s internal, bilateral, and international notification and response procedures
in the detection and interdiction of illicit trans-border movements of weapons of mass
destruction materials.
In early 2012, Georgia arrested and convicted two individuals in two separate instances
attempting to place IEDs in the Samegrelo region of Georgia. The bombings allegedly originated
in Abkhazia, and the bombers were apprehended before they could detonate the IEDs.
Countering Terrorist Finance: Georgia is a member of Moneyval, the Committee of Experts
on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism, and saw
improved scores in 2012. Georgia amended its criminal code in 2012, adding two articles. The
first classifies the financing of actions that pose a danger to the navigation of an aircraft as
terrorist financing, and the other classifies and defines the financing of an action that leads to an
explosion as terrorist financing.
In January, the Permanent National Interagency Antiterrorist Commission (PNIAC) was
established. The PNIAC, which is chaired by the Minister of Justice, significantly expedites the
court order process for freezing assets of individuals or entities on the UNSCR 1267/1989 and
1988 consolidated lists. If an entity or individual is on any of the lists, the PNIAC passes the
names to the National Bank for dissemination to privately registered banks in Georgia.
For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, we refer you to the 2013
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and
Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.
Regional and International Cooperation: On the regional level, Georgia is an active member
of the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation and the GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine,
Azerbaijan, and Moldova) Organization for Democracy and Economic Development. Bilaterally,
Georgia concluded a counterterrorism and law enforcement cooperation agreement with Hungary
and Turkey in 2012, bringing the number of bilateral counterterrorism and law enforcement
agreements Georgia has signed to 21. Georgia is in the process of concluding these bilateral
agreements with every European country.
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