SSSG: Minor Detained for False Terrorism Threat on Day of Patriarch Ilia II’s Funeral

2026-03-23 - 13:12

The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) said on March 23 that it arrested a minor who admitted to making a false terrorist threat at Tbilisi’s Holy Trinity Cathedral on March 22, where the funeral service for the late Patriarch Ilia II was held before a procession to Sioni Cathedral, where he was buried. According to the agency, “two anonymous calls” about terrorist acts were made to the Interior Ministry at “approximately 14:30.” That was the time when the funeral service had ended, speeches by religious and political leaders were over, and the procession to Sioni Cathedral was beginning. The SSSG said the caller insisted they were “in the vicinity” of the Holy Trinity Cathedral and claimed to have a firearm and that the area was planted with explosives, threatening that “if the area was not evacuated within 20 minutes, an explosion would occur.” The grounds of the Holy Trinity Cathedral were crowded on March 22 as thousands paid their final respects to the late Patriarch Ilia II, who was lain in repose there. Inside the cathedral, religious and political leaders, including delegations from the Orthodox world and senior Georgian Dream officials, were present. High-profile attendees included Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, Georgian Dream founder and Honorary Chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, SSSG Chief Mamuka Mdinaradze, other ministers, officials, and clergy. According to the SSSG, the caller “altered their voice using specialized software, used a foreign virtual phone number, and masked their IP address” in an effort to cover their tracks and hinder identification. The suspect, whom the agency said is a minor, was arrested the same evening. The SSSG said it had seized “several mobile phones, laptops, and other evidence relevant to the case.” The minor, who faces three to six years in prison for making a false terrorism alert, “admits to the crime,” the agency added. The statement, issued a day later on March 23, was followed by an additional comment to pro-government TV channel Imedi, in which the SSSG said that “security measures taken by the security and protection services at the Holy Trinity Cathedral and surrounding areas made it impossible for the call about a terrorist act to be real.” Also Read: 22/03/2026 – Obituary | Ilia II – The Man Who Reinvented the Church 18/03/2026 – ‘End of Epoch’ – Georgia Mourns Patriarch 26/11/2025 – GD’s Controversial Juvenile Justice Bill Could Place Minors in Closed Facilities