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. (Bssnews)