Irakli Okruashvili Was Going to Enter Georgia through Tskhinvali, according to MIA

Aleksi Bezhanishvili

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MIA) of Georgia, the Counter-Intelligence Department detained a criminal group several members of which are related to Georgian Party.

As the detective Giorgi Bukhrashvili stated at the press conference organized by the MIA on June 23rd, the Press Service of MIA disseminates the operative video material – information on the plans that the members of the detained group were going to carry out for the end of May. The detained individuals are charged with the crime envisaged by the article 223 of the Criminal Code of Georgia the formation of illegal armed group.

According to the MIA, the scheme according to which Irakli Okruashvili the leader of Georgian Party who found political asylum in Paris was going to enter Georgia through Tskhinvali is clear. Irakli Okruashvili, Giorgi Gabroshvili, Okruashvili’s guard, former head of Special Forces of MIA and the former head of Shida Kartli Forest Service Malkhaz Kakashvili are noted to be involved in this sceme. Begiashvili and Kakashvili are among wanted.

Following individuals have been detained: Bondo Kakashvili, former employee of the Defense Ministry, former guard of former Governor of Shida Kartli Mikheil Kareli, former head of the guards of Mikheil Kareli Khvicha Macharashvili, former head of military police Davit Jarmelishvili. The following individuals are wanted: former guard of Mikheil Kareli Gabriel Pavliashvili, former head of General Inspection of Defense Ministry Ioseb Giguashvili, former head of Shida Kartli regional police Khvicha Sabashvili.

The former employee of the Defense Ministry Shalva Sabashvili, former head of the Office of Defense Ministry, regional coordinator of Georgian Party Levan Terashvili, former employee of MIA Kakha Terashvili, former employee of Defense Ministry Giorgi Saatashvili are also detained.

The detainees Malkhaz Kakashvili, Tamaz Begiashvili and Khvicha Sabashvili met with Irakli Okruashvili at the end of April in Vladikavkaz, states the former employee of the Defense Ministry Giorgi Saatashvili in a testimony given to MIA.

“As I found out, According to Malkhaz Kakashvili, at the end of the month of April, he and Tamaz Begiashvili moved to the village Zemo Artsevi where they met with the former head of regional police Khvicha Sabashvili. Later, with two Russian officers, dressed in military uniform they were transferred to Orjonikidze by car,” – states the operative video material of MIA disseminated by Saatashvili.

According to him, these three individuals met with Irakli Okruashvili in Vladikavkaz, in one of the buildings. According to Saatashvili, Okruashvili was accompanied by one Georgian and one Russian dressed in civil uniform.

According to Saatashvili, Okruashvili commissioned them to ascertain coordination data of Georgian police posts located in administrative borders of Georgia. According to Saatashvili, Kakashvili, Tamaz Begiashvili and the official of former finance police Dato Jarmelishvili transferred the coordination data of police posts to Okruashvili.

“According to Kakashvili, Irakli Okruashvili was going to enter Georgia with 200 members of Russian Special Forces through Tskhinvali where he would be met by approximately 20 armed Georgians and then they would disarm the police posts. It was planned to enter one of the posts by Zili car. Then according to Kakashvili, they were going to attack the building of Special Forces in Gori and the regional agency of Shida Kartli,” – states Saatashvili.

According to Saatashvili, on April 22nd, Kakha Terashvili called him and asked him to come to the office of Georgian Party located at Uznadze #113. According to Saatashvili, on April 22nd, he went to the office of Georgian Party where he met Kakha Terashvili’s brother Levan Terashvili.

“He asked me – whether I had a driver’s license and whether I could drive the Zili car. I agreed to do it. Then he gave me the money to buy the Zili car,” – states Saatashvili.

According to him, some the Special Forces who were going to come with Irakli Okruashvili were going to be located in this car. They were going to be brought to Georgian police post secretly. I brought the car to the village Jariasheni where I met Kakha Terashvili. I placed it in one of the yards of the village and then we moved to the abandoned apartment,” – states Saatashvili in the video material of MIA.

According to him, at the night of April 22nd, Malkhaz Kakashvili and the guards of Mikheil Kareli Khvicha Macharashvili and Gia Pavliashvili visited them with two more people.

MIA disseminated the telephone conversation. One of the conversations reads as it follows:

Okruashvili – Hey, are you settled?

Kakashvili – Yes, yes.

Okruashvili – Are you really settled?

Kakashvili – We are together. We are good.

Okruashvili – Is everything ok?

Kakashvili – Yes

Okruashvili – Ok, good. Bye.

Kakashvili – Ok, goodbye… Looking forward…

The head of the Georgian Party Sozar Subari responded to the arrest of activists of the party before the dissemination of MIA video material.

As Sozar Subari stated at the special press conference, on June 22nd in the morning the law-enforcement officials detained the head of the regional service of Eastern Georgia Levan Terashvili. According to him, in the house of Terashvili, at about 00:00 approximately 20 armed officials came and prohibited Terashvili and his wife Natia Sreseli to move. Then, they turned off the light in their apartment and started search. Then they put the light back on, went in the bathroom and took out the gun.

According to Sozar Subari, as Terashvili’s spouse explains the policemen turned off the light on purpose to bring the gun and bullets in the bathroom. Then the policemen took out different items from Terashvili’s house, namely – computer, notebook and a wallet. The head of the party noted that two little children of Terashvili were there at that time.

According to him, on the same day they searched the house of Levan Terashvili’s friend Davit Shiukashvili in the village Jariasheni of Gori region where the law-enforcement also planted gun.

“It should be noted that Davit Shiukashvili is summoned to the reserve service and is in Senaki,” – noted Subari.

According to him, the arrest of Levan Terashvili’s brother Kakhaber Terashvili preceded this news. Kakhaber Terashvili was detained on June 21st with two other activists and then transferred to the building of MIA where they told him that he is detained for illegal possession of guns.

According to Sozar Subari’s assessment, the campaign of mass repressions against the Georgian Party started in the past month when the law-enforcement officials started mocking and making fun of the party supporters and tortured them.

Sozar Subari gave an example of detention of several activists of the party, namely, on May 21st, Rustavi police officials detained the deputy head of Rustavi Regional organization Gocha Kakoishvili, on May 22nd – the member of Gori Regional Organization initiative group Davit Jarmelashvili. On the same day, the head of Gori regional organization Kakhaber Ergemlidze was detained. The members of Kvareli regional organization Zurab Asabashvili and Zurab Iordanashvili were detained in kvareli. The activist of Kobuleti regional organization Khvicha Gamarjobadze and the member of Sighnaghi Youth Organization Mikheil Mateshvili were also detained.

“Besides, the members and supporters of Georgian Party are under persecution in Gori region, namely – Tsitsino Sinauridze, Levan Kldiashvili and Roland Kldiashvili. It should be noted that the latter individual, who is 70 years old was severely beaten by the law-enforcement on May 26th disruption and broke his ribs. Now the police visits his home and tries to intimidate him,” – noted Sozar Subari.

According to interpressnews