Tordia accuses law enforcers of acting against him
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, May 18
The head of Georgia’s State Audit Office, Lasha Tordia, who said he was physically assaulted by former Chief Prosecutor Otar Partskhaladze, says the Prosecutor’s Office, the Interior Ministry and the Financial Police are acting together and working against him.
Tordia claims he was physically abused by Partskhaladze and his people at the El Centro night club in central Tbilisi a several days ago, as his office had information over an illegal deal between Partskhaladze and the Mayor’s Office, “a corruption real estate deal which brought millions for Partskhaladze”.
Partskhaladze dismissed the accusations, and said it was Tordia who was under the influence of alcohol and aggressively attacked him.
Partskhaladze’s lawyers claim the ex-chief prosecutor’s bodyguards “were forced” to make Tordia stand aside.
The lawyers also claim that the traumas Tordia allegedly received were “self-inflicted”.
They also say that Tordia did not call police immediately after the incident.
Responding to these accusations, Tordia says the police seized camera records soon after the incident which will clearly show the truth.
However, he fears that the police may “edit” or “delete” the footage.
He claims the Prosecutor’s Office, the Financial Police and the Interior Ministry, where “Partskhaladze’s friends take high positions”, will do their utmost not to punish the former official and display the situation as if he [Todia] provoked the incident.
He stressed he did not call police right after the incident as he did not feel well, as he claims he was beaten by about 10 people and suffered head trauma.
Tordia has already given a four-hour testimony over the incident, while Partskhaladze will be questioned in the coming days, the police report.
The President of Georgia, the Public Defender and the civil sector called the incident “alarming” and demanded an urgent investigation into the case, as well as the relevant punishment of offenders.
Former Prosecutor Maya Mtsariashvili meanwhile does not believe that a fair investigation is being carried out, as she says the current Chief Prosecutor, Irakli Shotadze, was assisted by Partskhaladze in previous years to achieve success within the Prosecutor's Office.
Partskhaladze was Georgia’s Chief Prosecutor in 2013 and resigned within several months, as the opposition said he was arrested in Germany for burglary in 2000.
Partskhaladze admitted he had had a “small incident of disobedience” with German police and “not a burglary”, but he quit the post due to the scandal.
Tordia appeared in Parliament in 2008 as a member of the United National Movement and remained there until 2012, until he was appointed as the Audit Office head.
