Suspected Georgian Criminal Boss Arrested in Ukraine

Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said on April 7 that police have arrested “criminal authority Tariel Potskhveria” in Crimea, Ukraine. Georgian authorities suspect Potskhveria of being behind the March 27 prison riot in Tbilisi.

“I want to say that all “thieves-in-law” [criminal authorities] will be jailed… The only place where they will be welcomed is a Georgian prison,” Merabishvili said at a new conference.
 
The Georgian authorities say the violent clash in Tbilisi”s 5th prison on March 27, which left seven inmates dead, was a riot orchestrated by criminal bosses, both inside and outside the prison, who wanted to stage a massive jailbreak and create “mass destabilization” in the country. Police said Ukraine-based Tariel Potskhveria was among those criminal authorities.
 
Some human right groups, as well as opposition parties, have cast doubt on this version and allege that the riot was a spontaneous act on the part of the prisoners to protest against the inhumane treatment of inmates overnight on March 27 by prison officials, in particular, by Bacho Akhalaia – warden of the penitentiary.  Opponents also say that the police special forces used “extremely excessive” force against the prisoners.

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