Georgian singer Misho Sulukhia has alleged that law enforcement officers assaulted him, took his phone, and pressured him to confess to a crime he says he had nothing to do with. Sulukhia made the allegations in a social media post on Wednesday, saying the incident took place on Wednesday evening near Tbilisi’s Lisi Lake. Georgia’s Interior Ministry disputed his account, saying police had stopped Sulukhia while he was walking suspiciously in a wooded area near Lisi and that he had refused to obey a lawful police order before fleeing the scene. Sulukhia said that several young men in civilian clothes stopped the taxi he was travelling in and pulled him out. ‘They told me they were law enforcement officers, but none of them identified themselves or showed me identification documents. They hid their identities. They surrounded me and restricted my movement. This continued for more than an hour’, he wrote. Sulukhia alleged that the men took his phone and physically assaulted him. He also said they prevented him from answering calls from his 87-year-old grandmother. He claimed officers found no illegal substances on him and that he was sober. ‘They broke my phone screen. I was asking for help, but nobody could hear me. I asked them to return my phone, but [it was] in vain’, Sulukhia wrote. He further alleged that he saw the group preparing an object wrapped in black electrical tape before he escaped. Sulukhia also claimed that the taxi driver who had been transporting him remained in custody and was being pressured to confess to involvement in a group crime. The driver has not yet made a public comment and the MIA has also not yet addressed Sulukhia’s claims concerning the taxi driver. ‘They were offering me a scenario in which I would confess to a crime I have nothing to do with’, he wrote. After escaping, Sulukhia said he managed to publish his post on Facebook with the help of several strangers. He also asked for his phone and personal data to be protected and said he wanted to speak with the Public Defender. The Public Defender’s Office told OC Media that it was aware of the case and would contact the relevant agency. It also said it was ready to meet Sulukhia. Georgia’s Interior Ministry told OC Media that Sulukhia, who had previously been convicted of a drug-related offence and is currently serving a suspended sentence, was stopped by law enforcement officers for a check after he was observed moving suspiciously on foot in a wooded area near Lisi. The ministry said Sulukhia did not obey a lawful police order, dropped his mobile phone on the ground, and fled the scene. ‘Law enforcement officers sealed the mobile phone in accordance with established procedures, as well as the bank card placed inside the phone case’, the Ministry said. It added that administrative proceedings had been launched under article 173 of Georgia’s administrative offences code, which concerns disobeying a lawful order from a law enforcement officer. Sulukhia responded to the ministry’s statement on social media, again disputing that he had been involved in any crime. He questioned the ministry’s claim that he had been in the woods in a taxi and asked what had happened to the driver. Sulukhia also alleged that police had previously pressured him into giving a confession in 2025 and accused them of fabricating evidence in that case. He didn’t specify what the confession was. The original post in which Sulukhia made the allegations was no longer publicly available on Thursday morning. OC Media has contacted Sulukhia for additional details.