Georgian prosecution accuses head of Patarkatsishvili’s election campaign headquarters in plot
Georgia’s Deputy Prosecutor General Nikoloz Gvaramia announced at a briefing today that on December 17, the special operative department of the Georgian Interior Ministry started a preliminary investigation on plotting a coup and that one of suspected masterminds is MP Valery Gelbakhiani, the head of Badri Patarkatsishvili’s election campaign headquarters, reports a REGNUM correspondent. According to Nikoloz Gvaramia, the investigation was started on a report by director of the Interior Ministry Special Operative Department Irakli Kodua that an attempt had been made to recruit him on behalf of Badri Patarkatsishvili. Kodua informed that Patarkatsishvili’s supporter, former judge Marina Gabunia was to meet him on December 17 and offer a cash reward to him for participating a plot. After a court permit was issued, the police secretly recorded meetings of Kodua and Gabunia, Kodua and Gelbakhiani, as well as of Kodua, Gelbakhiani and Gabunia (the meetings took place in the period between December 18 and 21).
As the deputy prosecutor general noted, the recordings revealed “shocking facts.” According to him, the recording shows Gelbakhiani telling Kodua that together with members of his party he planned to inspire mass riots in Tbilisi and other Georgian regions on January 6 and for successful implementation of the plot he asked Kodua to arrest the interior minister. Gvaramia quoted Gelbakhiani as saying that plenty of money will be spent for summoning a lot of people to the streets in Tbilisi and all Georgian cities “to stage a show” and “when uncontrollable processes start, then they must take power into their hands.” Nikoloz Gvaramia stressed that the phrase “we shall spend plenty of money” was repeated several times. “The election will be artificially blocked. Provocations will be staged on the election day and the election will be frustrated,” Gelbakhiani allegedly said.
The deputy prosecutor general stressed that the background would precede the coup and Gelbakhiani promised political guarantees and cash reward to Kodua. After that, Gelbakhiani told Kodua that would go to London settle the issue with Badri Patarkatsishvili, that the latter was informed on the matter.
“In the end of the meeting, Gelbakhiani agreed with Irakli Kodua that the latter would go to London and meet Badri Patarkatsishvili for talks and new assignments and to discuss the reward, too. The investigation has irrefutable evidence that the meeting in London did take place; the investigation is held in this field too,” the deputy prosecutor genera stressed. As Gvaramia said, the Georgian prosecution ruled that Valery Gelbakhiani and Marina Gabunia are suspects in attempting plot. Gvaramia stressed that in accordance with Article 52 of the Georgian constitution, no permit of the parliament is needed, because immunity of a deputy is not applied in such cases. “If the investigation decides to take actions like detention, arrest, search, that need approve of the parliament, the Prosecutor General’s Office will send an appropriate request to the parliament. However, at the present stage we made a decision to summon Valery Gelbakhiani for interrogation as a suspect, and for this no agreement of the parliament is needed,” Nikoloz Gvaramia said.
15:54 12/24/2007
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