Official Arrested Over Rizhvadze Shooting Free on Bail
Tbilisi City Court released Aleksi Akhvlediani, director of Georgia’s Maritime Transport Agency, on GEL 30,000 (around USD 11,100) bail after prosecutors charged him with negligent firearm storage in connection with the alleged suicide attempt of former Adjara government head Tornike Rizhvadze.
Rizhvadze, who resigned in April 2024 as Adjara government head, remains in serious condition on mechanical ventilation following his hospitalization with a gunshot wound to his lung. Police launched an investigation under Article 115 – “incitement to suicide,” while prosecutors alleged that Akhvlediani’s negligence allowed Rizhvadze to access the weapon used in what authorities say was a suicide attempt.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the incident took place in the early hours of July 7 in Sagarejo, Eastern Georgian Kakheti region, at the residence of Akhvlediani, whom Rizhvadze was visiting. Investigators say that Rizhvadze took Akhvlediani’s firearm, which had been left unattended in a marquee near the house, after which he “secretly moved it to the guest bedroom and, while alone, shot himself in the chest in an attempted suicide, resulting in a severe bodily injury.”
Akhvlediani’s lawyer told reporters the two men are “close friends” who “frequently visited each other,” adding that Akhvlediani “was not near Rizhvadze when the incident occurred.” She said Akhvlediani rushed Rizhvadze to the hospital before paramedics arrived, likely saving his life.
Pro-government TV channels reported that a note was found in Rizhvadze’s clothing in which he allegedly wrote about being accused of “corruption and protecting drug dealers,” and appealed to Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze to protect his family. The note reportedly stated that Akhvlediani was innocent and that Rizhvadze had taken the gun secretly.
However, the Batumelebi outlet reported that neither representatives of Geo Hospitals in Sagarejo nor the Tbilisi First University Clinic, where Rizhvadze was later transferred, could confirm that any letter had been provided to the media.
Levan Ratiani, director of the clinic, said later on July 8 that Rizhvadze’s condition shows “positive dynamics,” communicates, and “follows simple commands.”
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