Thousands of covertly recorded files and surveillance summaries as well as readouts of conversations by high-ranking figures in the Georgian Orthodox Church have leaked by an individual identifying himself as a former member claiming to have worked for the State Security Service (SSS) of Georgia.
The files contain readouts of telephone conversations, internet communications, bank transfers, business activities, links with organized crime and personal life details, including those obtained through covert surveillance by the SSS.
The files are supplemented by a letter by an alleged member of the SSS claiming the Service is engaged in massive surveillance driven by the quest to maintain grip over the Church.
"We listen to everyone, we collect information about you, we collect compromising information, we use your weaknesses, gossip on you, discredit your name - we rule you through evil. It's our accomplishment that today the church is not the house of God, but one of the greatest nests of filth."
The files also contain reports of Bishop Nikoloz, a very high-ranking and authority in the Church, to have been regularly passing information on political situation in Georgia he obtains through his friendly relations with Georgian politicians to his contact in Russia in exchange for money. Bishop Nikoloz has confirmed contact with the individual in Moscow, but maintained trust into the SSS “even if they sometimes work unprofessionally.”
The files also allege that Shorena Tetruashvili, a powerful secretary of the Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II regularly records his meetings with foreign and other desks and forwards them to Russia through dean of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral there, Bidzina Gunia. In addition, clerics under her direct influence “are actively cooperating with Russia’s political and religious circles.”
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