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On September 20, 2012, amid protests against torture and rapes in Georgian prisons, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced Akhalaia had resigned from office.

On July 4, 2012, Akhalaia was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs, succeeding on this position Ivane Merabishvili, who became Prime Minister in an important cabinet reshuffle months before the scheduled parliamentary election.

In December 2008, in the aftermath of the August 2008 war with Russia, Akhalaia was appointed deputy Minister of Defense. The Georgian media ran stories about Akhalaia's alleged tensions with then-Minister Vasil Sikharulidze and Chief of Joint Staff Vladimer Chachibaia. On August 27, 2009, Akhalaia replaced Sikharulidze as Minister of Defense. President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili said "much stricter hand" was needed in the military and praised Akhalaia's past achievements. The Georgian opposition subjected the decision to harsh criticism.

According to the WikiLeaks cables, the United States and NATO diplomats also expressed concerns over Akhalaia's appointment as Minister of Defense "noting his poor human rights record" during his service as the chief of penitentiary service. However, in the October 10, 2009 confidential cable sent to Alexander Vershbow, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense, ahead of his visit to Georgia, the U.S. embassy in Tbilisi described Akhalaia as "the most active Defense Minister in terms of seeking advice" from the U.S. defense advisers and "then following through with it." He was further noted for being, unlike his predecessor, "unafraid to make decisions" and "genuinely interested in making reforms designed to make the GAF [the Georgian Armed Forces] better."

Akhalaia graduated from the Tbilisi State University with a degree in Law in 2003. From 2003 to 2004, he worked for the NGO Liberty Institute, known for his role in protests that led to the Rose Revolution in Georgia in November 2003. From 2004 to 2005, Akhalaia served as deputy Public Defender (Ombudsman) under his fellow Liberty Institute activist Sozar Subari. In 2005, Akhalaia was moved to the post of Head of Penitentiary Department of Ministry of Justice of Georgia. In this capacity he led a struggle against the established system of "thieves in law" which ruled prisons in the post-Soviet country, but he was a frequent target of criticism by the opposition, some human rights groups and Public Defender Subari. In particular, he was accused of heavy-handed crackdown on Georgia's largest prison riot in 2006, in which 7 inmates died.

Bachana "Bacho" Akhalaia (Georgian: ბაჩანა "ბაჩო" ახალაია ; born October 24, 1980 in Zugdidi) is a Georgian politician who was Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia from July 4, 2012 to September 20, 2012. He had previously served as Head of Penitentiary Department of Ministry of Justice of Georgia (2005–2008) and Minister of Defense (August 27, 2009 – July 4, 2012).