Petre Tsiskarishvili and Telavi Governor Give Orders to Arrest Businessmen in Kakheti

Petre Tsiskarishvili and Telavi Governor Give Orders to Arrest Businessmen in Kakheti

The Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre held a press conference in Gurjaani about the massive arrests of businessmen in Kakheti.

The press-conference was also attended by Lia Tsabutashvili, the wife of recently arrested Jumber Darchiashvili. “My husband has been accused of abusing his power whilst holding a position as Head of the Culture Department in the Telavi region and also of spending state money between 1997 and 2003. But he is innocent. The General Prosecutor’s Office is trying to complicate the case. Today, the court hearing did not take place, because my husband did not appear in court. We think that Petre Tsiskarishvili wants to take control of the Telavi central market by doing this. The market was the property of our family. I am afraid they can attack my family at anytime. If my husband is not released, our family will renounce Georgian citizenship and seek political asylum,” declared Lia Tsabutashvili.

According to information obtained by the Human Rights Centre, criminal authorities (members of the mafia) Shota Chichiashvili and Kereselidze, have ‘recommended’ that Darchiashvili hand over the central market to the state.

Darchiashvili’s family is afraid that he will not be safe in prison. They ask for help from the President of Georgia, Elene Tevdoradze, the Head of Human Rights Committee of Parliament, Ombudsman Sozar Subari, and from the NGO coalition and opposition parties.

The Governor of the Kakheti region, Petre Tsiskarishvili, says that he is not interested in the Telavi central market, although he claims that Darchiashvili bought the market illegally.

The Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre opposes the illegal arrest of the businessmen in Kakheti and asks for immediate action from the appropriate bodies.