Prosecutors Want ‘Coup Plotter’s’ Immunity Removed

The General Prosecutor’s Office said on January 24 that it had asked Parliament to strip Valery Gelbakhiani of the immunity he enjoys as an MP.

MP Gelbakhiani, a former head of tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili’s election campaign, has been charged with conspiring to overthrow the government.

The General Prosecutor’s Office launched the investigation into “an attempt to forcefully overthrow the government” on December 17, after Irakli Kodua, head of the Interior Ministry’s Special Operations Department (SOD), notified investigators that Marina Gabunia, a former judge, and Gelbakhiani had tried to bribe him in exchange for taking part in the alleged conspiracy.

The General Prosecutor’s Office released a covertly recorded video tape, in which Gelbakhiani tells Kodua about planned post-election unrest.

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