As a result of the investigative and procedural activities carried out by the Special Investigation Service, during the period of July-August of this year, five persons were arrested in various criminal cases upon the fact of unlawful violation of the secrecy to private life.

The investigation established that the defendants stored the private correspondence texts, the photos and videos depicting the naked bodies of the victims, with whom the defendants were in relationship with at different times. The defendants posted the intimate photos, videos and messages on social media, shared them with the relatives and friends of the victims via mobile phones, and in some cases the above-mentioned photo and video material were used to blackmail the victim into the relationship.

Based on the evidence obtained by the Special Investigation Service, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia give all the five detained persons in accusation under the article 157 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. The article envisages imprisonment for the crime by four to seven years.

From March 01, 2022, the independent state authority - Special Investigation Service - has been working with significantly increased functions. We would like to remind the public that, in addition to the crimes committed by officials, the crimes defined under the articles 157, 157(1), 158, 159, (Accordingly: Disclosure of information on private life of personal data, Disclosure of secrets of personal life, Violation of the secrecy of private communication and Violation of personal correspondence, phone conversations or other kinds of communication) have also been subjected to the investigative jurisdiction of the Service.

The Special Investigation Service plans to actively carry out informational and preventive measures for the purposes of preventing and combating the crime of violation of the secrecy of private life.