Georgia Says ‘Foreign Special Services’ Planned to Kill Opposition MP

MP Davitashvili said on June 8 his life was under threat and requested authorities to employ security guard for him.

Georgian officials said on June 17 that a failed attempt on life of opposition lawmaker Koba Davitashvili was masterminded by “foreign special services” and aimed at “discrediting Georgian President and leadership.”

MP Koba Davitashvili, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, said on June 8 that unknown “young person” was planning an attempt on his life. Davitashvili said that unknown person spent two days outside his apartment building. Davitashvili said “young person” escaped only after his neighbors tried to question him on June 7. He said the suspect fired twice from a gun with silencer. One neighbor of MP Davitashvili was injured. In a hurry the person left on a scene a little bag where the lawmaker’s neighbors found Davitashvili’s photo.

Giorgi Arveladze, the Georgian President’s Chief of Administration, said at a news conference on June 17, that the Georgian law enforcers investigated this report by MP Davitashvili and confirmed that assassination of the opposition lawmaker was really planned.

“We have identified all the details of this failed operation, as well as the person who was assigned to carry out this operation. He is Giorgi Kurtaev, who currently resides in Vladikavkaz [capital of Russia’s North Ossetian Republic]. We have found out all his links – and all his links are in Russia – and his routes while being in Georgia. FBI is also involved in investigation of this case upon our request,” Giorgi Arveladze said.

He also said that suspect Giorgi Kurtaev arrived in Tbilisi from Vladikavkaz via breakaway South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali and returned back to Vladikavkaz with the same route via Tskhinvali.

“We can say for sure that foreign special services participated in this operation, but we can not specify now which country’s special services were involved,” Arveladze said, but stressed that the suspect arrived in Tbilisi “from Russia via Tskhinvali.”

Arveladze also noted that this case resembles very much the one related with the Gori terrorist act last February, when as he put it, “terrorists infiltrated from Russia via Tskhinvali with the participation of Russian GRU [military intelligence] operatives.”

He said that the Georgian law enforcement agencies will request the Russian side to extradite Giorgi Kurtaev.

He said the assassination of the Georgian opposition leader aimed at discrediting the Georgian leadership through portraying the latter as persecutor of its opponents. 

“Provocations of this kind are planned in the future as well, so we will undertake measures towards several directions. First of all, we will secure protection of political leaders, including of MP Koba Davitashvili. Secondly, we will reinforce protection of our borders and strategically important facilities and we will also boost our counter-intelligence measures,” Giorgi Arveladze said.

He said that it is up to the Interior Ministry to reveal detailed information about the investigation of the case.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)