Jihad video investigation details revealed, questions remain

In June 2013, Hammad Zaman uploaded a video clip to You Tube threatening Georgia's Armed Forces, the president and the country with jihad, in retaliation for Georgia's role in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan and the country's close support of Western military adventures in the Muslim world. The video clip agitated the population, experts and politicians in Georgia.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) carried out an investigation and revealed the author of the clip. This person was a citizen of Kyrgyzstan, Samar Chokutaev, born in 1989. He worked or may still work at one of the mobile communication provider companies in Sokhumi, the capital of breakaway Abkhazia. The MIA accuses Chokutaev in the dissemination and promotion of terrorist acts.

Of course he has not been detained. So the question remains: who stands behind his actions, and who masterminded the video; who gave the orders?

The MIA's investigation began immediately after the video was released and after three months, the results were on the table.

Oppositional members of parliament criticized the current government for not revealing the information sooner. It turns out that the case had been investigated and solved by the end of September. However, no details were immediately made public.

Samar Chokutaev is a highly qualified IT specialist who used USB internet modems of Georgian GSM operators (Geocell, Magticom and Beeline). By using special technology, he managed to break the password and enter two private internet networks, creating the illusion that the video clip had been prepared in Georgia.

Georgian special services found out through the investigation that the Georgian companies were innocent. Chokutaev entered their internet network illegally. The material shown in the jihad video was easily available online. Chokutaev only made the compilation of the material.

Analysts suggest that this is a clear case of cyber terrorism. However, the major task now is to identify those people who have plotted this terrorist threat.

Some analysts suggest that perhaps the authors of the jihad threat have supporters in Georgia as well. The goal of the video was probably to cause panic among the Georgian population and could have reflected the ideology of the author or even represented a direct order from the Taliban in Afghanistan.