Lia Thodua, the mother of detained military blogger Ucha Abashidze, asserts that the weapons seized from the house, as shown in the video released by the Internal Affairs Ministry, are mostly toys - toy guns and bullets. She states that there are only two real guns in the video, and both are officially registered in her son's name.
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"The weapons found in the house, as shown by the MIA, are mainly toy guns and plastic toy bullets because Ucha has been playing Airsoft all his life," wrote Ucha Abashidze's mother.
Airsoft is a type of sport or hobby in which players use special weapons. The games are organized according to different scenarios; common games include two-star battle, storming the building, historical battle, ambush, surprise attack, etc.
Crisis communication specialist Davit Dzidzishvili also commented on the video released by the Internal Affairs Ministry. The video shows toy weapons and their parts, taken from Ucha Abashidze's house, which the police have spread on the floor. This creates the impression that a large amount of ammunition was removed from the military blogger's apartment.
"This is an airsoft gun. The footage shows a hunting rifle, which the man legally owned, and airsoft guns. They are trying to deceive the public with this. That gun shoots plastic bullets. Ucha is the head of the association for this game and one of the founders of this entertainment in Georgia. I also played airsoft and kept a toy gun at home. I don't have it anymore; otherwise, I might have been caught too.
The toy guns confiscated from someone known to everyone as a player of the game are being portrayed as illegal weapons. They are lying!" said Davit Dzidzishvili.
Military blogger Ucha Abashidze, who opposes the Russian Law on so-called Foreign Agents, was arrested by the police on May 9 after several hours of searching his apartment. Representatives of the Internal Affairs Ministry searched Abashidze's house and conducted other investigative activities in a manner that did not allow lawyers to enter the apartment.
The Internal Affairs Ministry issued a statement indicating that investigative activities were conducted at Ucha Abashidze's residence as part of the investigation into the cyber attack on the websites of various government agencies, including the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Justice and the Parliament of Georgia. During the search, law enforcement officers discovered illegal firearms and ammunition. Ucha Abashidze was arrested for the crime outlined in Article 236 of the Criminal Code, which involves the illegal purchase and storage of firearms and ammunition.
