The prosecutor’s office announced today that it arrested 5 former government officials for illegally obtaining recordings of private lives (sex tapes). The detainees have denied the charges against them, meaning that their innocence cannot be brought under question prior to the court's final decision.

We welcome the fact that the prosecutor's office conducted an active investigation, identified and arrested suspects, and informed the public about the process. We hope that the prosecution's evidence is credible and that the common courts will carefully examine the evidence presented during the first trial.

We believe that increased public interest has pushed the investigative authorities to be more active and present concrete results. However, the investigation must continue in order to determine when and how these recordings were made and stored. The investigation must also determine the identity of those individuals who gave the detainees orders to make the recordings and keep them archived.

In addition, the prosecutor's office must investigate blackmail cases recently reported by a number of public figures (Eka Mishveladze, Nika Gvaramia, Aleksandre Elisashvili). Finally, the campaign This Affects You continues to demand the law enforcement system be cleansed of those officials, who stood behind systemic violations of privacy.

Considering the high public interest, law enforcement agencies must continue to keep the public informed about the investigation process, in order to ensure its credibility and transparency.