Mayor of Tsalenjikha says his personal car was set on fire late at night
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, October 13, 2022
According to the mayor of Tsalenjikha, Gia Kharchilava, his personal car was set on fire near the house late at night.
"The incident happened at around 03:30. My personal car was burnt. The car was 100% intact. An examination was carried out, the police came soon and the investigation began," Kharchilava told Interpressnews.
At the Tsalenjikha City Hall, they say the burning of the car is connected to the Mayor's political activities.
Deputy Mayor Tamar Belkania said there are signs that the car was deliberately filled with fuel.
"The incident happened late at night. He parked the car in front of the house and when they got out, it was already on fire. It is completely burnt. We associate the incident with his activities. He is not an obedient mayor", said Tamar Belkania.
The deputy mayor of Tsalenjikha, urges the law enforcement officers to immediately investigate the burning of the car and calls on embassies to get involved in the investigation.
"They burned the mayor's personal car late at night. It happened in front of his house, where his family, an elderly parent, is staying. I call on the law enforcement authorities to immediately investigate the fact. Also, I call upon the diplomatic corps, the embassies, to get involved in this investigation, in which public interest is high. We want to achieve a safe environment, where people feel safe and perform their duties", said Tamar Belkania.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs started an investigation into the incident under Article 187, which means damage to someone else's property.
According to the mayor himself, he said that his car was burned deliberately.
According to Gia Kharchilava, due to the fact that Tsalenjikha is the only opposition municipality that implements reforms and encrypts anti-corruption schemes, it has become unique from the system, and this made someone very angry.
According to Kharchilava, the car was 100% in order and therefore it excludes self-ignition.
"I think about the fact that the opposition, the only municipality in Tsalenjikha, which implements reforms, discloses anti-corruption schemes, and Tsalenjikha did not become a handful, it became unique from the system, and this made someone very angry. I don't jump to conclusions, but this is the picture you see. We live in Russia, we are directly a guberniya of the systemized empire of Moscow.
It is very natural, the criminal methods existing in Russia are probably embedded here as well. Everything is clear to me, but I will be more adventurous in reforms, in everything for which the people elected me", said Gia Kharchilava.
Opposition leaders have responded to this incident and majority of them think it was done deliberately to intimidate the Mayor.
According to the leader of "Lelo" Mamuka Khazaradze, the purpose of burning the car of the mayor of Tsalenjikha, is to intimidate Kharchilava.
"Today, the car of the mayor of Tsalenjikha, Gia Kharchilava, was burned in front of his house. The goal is to intimidate him, nothing will come of it! Reforms will continue! "Tsalenjikha will be a successful model of coalition management," Mamuka Khazaradze wrote.
"There were a number of threats against Kharchilava - burning his car is an attempt to intimidate Gia Kharchilava""United National Movement" deputy Ana Tsitlidze said at a briefing held in the parliament.
According to her, in the near future, Gia Kharchilava was planning to expose the corrupt deals of "Georgian Dream", had planned briefings on this topic and had materials ready to hand over to the prosecutor's office, "which makes the fact of the explosion of her car even more suspicious".
