TBILISI, Dec 3, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Georgia on Wednesday threatened the BBC with legal action over an investigation alleging the country's authorities deployed a World War I-era chemical agent to disperse anti-government protesters last year.

Demonstrations have gripped the Black Sea country for the past year, and the state response to the protests has drawn domestic and international criticism.

The British broadcaster reported on Monday that it had gathered evidence suggesting "Georgia's authorities used a World War One-era chemical weapon to quell anti-government protesters last year".

"It was clear from the outset that the BBC's report is not only a falsehood, but a cheap provocation orchestrated in the style of foreign intelligence services," Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told a news conference in Tbilisi.

"We plan to appeal both to the British communications regulatory authority and, if necessary, to international justice, so that the BBC is duly held accountable and retracts the false information," Kobakhidze added.

The BBC said in a statement that the report was based on "hearing directly from the protestors themselves, multiple whistleblowers, UN experts and experts inside Georgia, as well as a medical study and written documents and reports".

Georgia's state security service announced earlier it had opened an investigation into the BBC's findings.

The Caucasus nation has been embroiled in political crisis since a parliamentary election last year, which the opposition denounced as rigged in favour of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

The government's announcement a year ago that it would not seek the opening of EU membership talks with Brussels until 2028 also triggered protests.

During the initial rallies, police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse protesters.

The country's rights ombudsman and Amnesty International have said police mistreatment of detained protesters amounted to "torture".

The Georgian Dream party has rejected accusations at home and abroad of democratic backsliding and of pro-Russian sympathies.