On 2 January 1992, a coalition of military forces seized power in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, installing a seven-member Military Council in place of the country's president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who fled the city four days later. As a result of the Mkhedrioni's role in the fighting that preceded Gamsakhurdia's ouster, its leader, Dzhaba Ioseliani, was named as one of the members of the Military Council (RFE/RL 18 June 1993, 81; RFE/RL 17 Jan. 1992, 4).

The Sakartvelos Mkhedrioni was reportedly formed in early 1988 (RFE/RL 15 Feb. 1991, 19). A January 1992 report describes it as a "paramilitary and charitable organization" while a more recent report calls it a "military-patriotic organization" (RFE/RL 17 Jan. 1992, 5; Krasnaya Zvezda 2 Oct. 1993). Most recent reports stress the military/paramilitary characteristics of the Mkhedrioni (Reuters 28 Nov. 1993; AFP 10 Mar. 1994; Le Monde 7 Jan. 1994).

In December 1990, two months after the political organization led by Gamsakhurdia won Georgia's first multiparty elections, members of Mkhedrioni staged a hunger strike to protest their restricted access to the media (RFE/RL 18 June 1993, 80; RFE/RL 17 Jan. 1992, 11). The group's opposition to the president culminated in the arrest of 20 members in Tbilisi and about 50 regional Mkhedrioni leaders in mid-February 1991. At the same time, Ioseliani was arrested after he called Gamsakhurdia a "usurper and an abnormal person" (RFE/RL 17 Jan. 1992, 12). He remained in pre-trial detention in September 1991 when opposition protests in Tbilisi called for the president's resignation and Ioseliani's release (RFE/RL 17 Jan. 1992, 5).

In the latter half of 1993 the Mkhedrioni's troops were active in the fighting in Abkhazia, and its members became the targets of armed attacks (AFP 19 Oct. 1993). In late September, its troops blocked entrances to Zugdidi to prevent Gamsakhurdia loyalists from entering the city for a rally (The Independent 27 Sept. 1993). In mid-October Mkhedrioni forces were among those reinforcing Kutaisi against an advance by Abkhaz rebels (AFP 19 Oct. 1993). Ioseliani complained in parliament about an attack on 120 Mkhedrioni members in the town of Rustavi in September and two senior members of the organization were killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen in Tbilisi in December (Iberia 22 Dec. 1993). Violence directed against the Mkhedrioni continued in 1994 when a bomb blast destroyed its headquarters in the capital in March (AFP 10 Mar. 1994).

Reports since early October 1993 indicate that the Mkhedrioni support the current president, Eduard Shevardnadze (AFP 19 Oct. 1993; Reuters 28 Nov. 1993; Le Monde 7 Jan. 1994). In addition, a March 1994 press report states that organization is no longer a paramilitary force and has been integrated into the regular Georgian army (AFP 10 Mar. 1994).

The role of Mkhedrioni in Georgian politics has been less clear than its military one. After the State (formerly Military) Council was abolished in fall 1992, Shevardnadze agreed to compensate Ioseliani by placing two of the latter's close associates in key government positions. Irakli Batiashvili became the head of the Intelligence and Information Committee while Temur Khachisvili became Minister of the Interior (RFE/RL 1 Oct. 1993, 5). Ioseliani was elected to parliament as an independent in October 1992 (RFE/RL 27 Nov. 1992, 3). By mid-September 1993, Khachisvili was no longer interior minister, and an early October report indicates that the Georgian president had assumed that position in an acting capacity (Radio Tbilisi Network 14 Sept. 1993; RFE/RL 1 Oct. 1993, 6). Two recent reports describe Ioseliani as "president of the Georgian emergency committee" and "head of the interim committee for emergency situations" respectively (AFP 10 Mar. 1994; Radio Tbilisi Network 28 Oct. 1993).

For additional information on the Mkhedrioni please see the attached articles.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Agence France Presse (AFP). 10 March 1994. "At Least Two Dead in Tbilisi Blasts." (NEXIS)

. 19 October 1993. "Rebel Forces Advancing on Georgia's Second City." (NEXIS)

Iberia [Tbilisi, in Georgian]. 22 December 1993. "Two Members of Paramilitary Unit Killed in Tbilisi." (FBIS-SOV-93-245 23 Dec. 1993, p. 71)

The Independent [London]. 27 September 1993. "Rebels Surround Georgian President; Shevardnadze 'Refusing to Be Taken Out of Abkhaz Capital'." (NEXIS)

Krasnaya Zvezda [Moscow, in Russian]. 2 October 1993. "Ioseliani Warns of 'Guerilla War' Against Russia." (FBIS-SOV-93-190 4 Oct. 1993, p. 2)

Le Monde [Paris]. 7 January 1994. Fralon Jose Alain. "Georgie: L'ancien president Zviad Gamsakhourdia est mort dans des circonstances encore mal connues." (NEXIS)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 1 October 1993. RFE/RL Research Report [Munich]. Vol. 2, No. 39. Stephen F. Jones. "Georgia's Power Structures," pp. 5-9.

. 18 June 1993. RFE/RL Research Report [Munich]. Vol. 2, No. 25. Elizabeth Fuller. "Paramilitary Forces Dominate Fighting in Transcaucasus," pp. 74, 80-82.

. 27 November 1992. RFE/RL Research Report [Munich]. Vol. 1, No. 47. Elizabeth Fuller. "The Georgian Parliamentary Elections," pp. 1-4.

. 17 January 1992. RFE/RL Research Report [Munich]. Vol. 1, No. 3. Elizabeth Fuller. "Georgian President Flees after Opposition Seizes Power," pp. 4-5.

. 8 March 1991. Report on the USSR [Munich]. Vol. 3, No. 10. Elizabeth Fuller. "Gamsakhurdia's First 100 Days," pp. 10-13.

. 15 February 1991. Report on the USSR [Munich]. Vol. 3, No. 7. Elizabeth Fuller. "Georgia's National Guard," pp. 18-19.

Radio Tbilisi Network. 28 October 1993. "Ioseliani Asks Zugdidi Citizens to Surrender Leaders." (FBIS-SOV-93-208 29 Oct. 1993, p. 85)

. 14 September 1993. "Ioseliani Addresses Supreme Council 14 Sep." (FBIS-SOV-93-177 15 Sept. 1993, pp. 76-77)

Reuters. 28 November 1993. "Georgian Military Leader Escapes Bomb Blast." (NEXIS)

The Guardian. 18 January 1992. Suzanne Goldenberg. "Georgian President Awaits Attack." (NEXIS)

The Independent [London]. 27 September 1993. "Rebels Surround Georgian President; Shevardnadze 'Refusing to Be Taken Out of Abkhaz Capital'." (NEXIS)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 18 June 1993. RFE/RL Research Report [Munich]. Vol. 2, No. 25. Elizabeth Fuller. "Paramilitary Forces Dominate Fighting in Transcaucasus," pp. 74, 80-82.

Radio Tbilisi Network. 28 October 1993. "Ioseliani Asks Zugdidi Citizens to Surrender Leaders." (FBIS-SOV-93-208 29 Oct. 1993, p. 85)

Swiss Review of World Affairs. July 1993. Ulrich Schmidt. "Georgia After the Fall." (NEXIS)