Pardoned Prisoners Are Arrested on Political Reasons

According to Badri Patarkatsishvili’s election staff in Batumi, Koba Kurbanidze, a prisoner who was pardoned a few days ago is forced to support presidential candidate Mikheil Saakashvili. Unless he obeyed the demand, he was threatened with repeated imprisonment. Family members of .Kurbanadze have not seen him for two days already.

“At present 40 % of pardoned prisoners has returned to prisons. They were forced to support Saakashvili. Koba Kurbanidze has disappeared for two days who applied to us for help. Relatives and members of the family are looking for him”, says Avtandil Gadakhabadze, head of the election staff.

Shorena Sarishvili, representative of Public Defender’s Office confirms that Kurbanidze applied to them: “He has petitioned to us but I have no right to make any comments on the situation.”

Geno Geladze, a member of prison monitoring group, states that Koba Kurbanidze was arrested for robbery.

The staff members suppose that Kurbanidze was arrested on political grounds.

Maka Malakmadze, Batumi