The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) said on Monday that, within the framework of the USAID program, Serbian citizens were conducting trainings for a "revolutionary scenario" in Georgia.

SSSG stated that "on September 25, 2023, Serbian citizens Sinisa Sikman, Jelena Stojsic, and Slobodan Djinovic arrived in Georgia at the invitation of the East-West Management Institute, which the USAID funds:"

"The mentioned persons are related to the revolutionary events that took place in Georgia in 2003, and in different years they were also connected with similar processes in Serbia, Ukraine, and other states. They were actively involved in teaching the methods of creating protest drives and the tactics of conducting violent actions. They represent the management link of the "Canvas" organization. Also, Sinisa Sikman and Slobodan Jinovic are former members of the organization "Otpor", which was an analogue of the Georgian organization "Kmara" in Serbia. We would like to remind the public that "Canvas", the core of which is the organization "Otpor", is being used to prepare youth groups for the revolutionary scenario planned in October-December of this year in Georgia."

The SSSG claimed that these organizations possess practical experience in participating in foreign revolutionary processes and imparting knowledge on the orchestration of violent protests.

"The declared purpose for the mentioned persons’ arrival in Georgia was to hold trainings on “strategic nonviolent struggle” for the groups of people working in the field of culture. However, the investigation established that this was not the only purpose of their arrival in Georgia. Specifically, the real purpose of their visit was to establish communication with and conduct training for those young people and influential NGOs, which should become the core of destructive and unlawful actions planned in Georgia in October-December of this year,” the SSSG said, adding that during September 26-29, the Serbian trainers were actively recruiting what is described as “one of the larger groups” at Hotel IBIS in Tbilisi, with the intention that this group will assume the pivotal role “in the efforts to topple the government.”

"These individuals were trained on how to act against target groups, namely the government, the Orthodox Church, the State Security Service and other agencies, as well as on the techniques of creating pickets and artificial traffic jams on the roads and setting up tents in front of administrative buildings, how to create tension in the power structures, what violent response should be given to their legal demands. The trainees were prepared for the process of expected arrests and were trained on the methods of resisting in such a time, the issues of financing the participants of the rally, the invasion of the parliament building, the disconnection of the broadcasting stations and the seizure of power, the overthrow of the legally elected government of Georgia, during which they brought a number of dramatic examples in Serbia for a comparative analysis.

On September 29, 2023, Sinisa Sikman, Jelena Stoisic and Slobodan Jinovic were interrogated by the investigators of the State Security Service of Georgia in the presence of lawyers and translators, during which they tried to disguise the real reason for their stay in Georgia in order to avoid the expected criminal liability. It should be noted that their testimonies contradict the evidence obtained by the investigation and are contradictory in some details," SSSG said in a statement on Monday.

On September 30, 2023, Sinisa Sikman, Jelena Stojsic and Slobodan Jinovic left Georgia for Belgrade.

We present to you part of the evidence obtained as a result of the secret investigative action against Sinisa Sikman, Jelena Stojsic and Slobodan Djinovic, conducted on the basis of the judge's ruling, which was declassified by the prosecutor due to the growing public interest in the case.

Here, we remind the public once again that the State Security Service issued a statement on the destructive plans of the "Canvas" organization on September 18 of this year. At present, active investigation and operative-search measures are being carried out in the case in order to expose perpetrators and prevent crimes against the state.

On September 26-29, the USAID-funded conference was organized by "Canvas-Georgia" and the East-West Management Institute. During the four-day training, the representatives of the mentioned organizations and the so-called civil activists were present," the SSSG said.