The individual detained in Tbilisi by the State Security Service (SSG) on espionage charges has been identified as a student from Akhalgori, according to the Georgian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 27-year-old Tamaz Goloev (Goloti), of Ossetian descent on his father’s side and Georgian on his mother’s, studied in Tskhinvali and frequently visited Tbilisi.
The accused’s mother says she traveled to Tbilisi to find out what happened, but has received no information regarding her son. According to her, Tamaz arrived in Tbilisi from Akhalgori on the morning of April 22, 2026, and was detained immediately upon arrival—a fact she learned from television reports. She subsequently traveled to Tbilisi herself but has been unable to meet with her son.
“I know nothing; they didn’t even let me in, I can’t say anything, they tell me nothing… I believe he is being accused unjustly,” Tamaz’s mother said, adding that she had not noticed anything suspicious about her son’s behavior.
The woman also knows nothing about the two other individuals involved in the case, who, according to the SSG, are also suspected of espionage and have been placed on a wanted list.
According to the State Security Service, the Counterintelligence Department detained a Georgian citizen on charges of espionage—specifically, the collection and transmission of information on behalf of a foreign intelligence service. The agency claims the detainee was recruited by a foreign intelligence service, operated under an assigned alias, and acted against Georgia’s interests for financial compensation.
According to the agency, the investigation established that the individual detained in the espionage case was tasked with gathering information in Georgia on the following: the location, strength, and resources of Georgian law enforcement and security structures—the State Security Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Defense—as well as conducting photo and video surveillance of their facilities; the location of strategic sites in Georgia, including bridges, highways, railways, and other infrastructure, along with photo and video documentation of these sites, among other tasks.
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