Parliament to carry out investigation

Georgia’s General Auditor Lasha Tordia has addressed the Georgian Parliament with a request for the creation of an investigative commission concerning the incident that occurred between him and former Prosecutor-in-Chief, Otar Partskhaladze.

He stressed at a special press-conference that in the current situation he cannot prove the truth of his words.

“It’s ridiculous to describe Partskhaladze as the one who was assaulted. According to so-called neutral witnesses, the Interior Ministry says that I was the one who started the fight. Initially it was said that nothing special had happened; now they say I was the attacker. These are very interesting developments,” Tordia said.

He also addressed all international organizations and the diplomatic corps to be involved in the process.

“I would like to assure Otar Partskhaladze that he cannot get away with his actions so easily,” he added.

A clash occurred between Georgia’s General Auditor Lasha Tordia and former Prosecutor of Georgia Otar Partskhaladze about a week ago.

Tordia claims he was attacked by Partskhaladze because of a finding the Audit Agency was drafting, “revealing an illegal real estate deal between Partskhaladze and the Tbilisi Mayor’s Office”.

Partskhaladze said it was Tordia who attacked him.

The issue has caused a large-scaled outcry, with the opposition, NGOs and the President demanding an urgent and fair investigation.

Georgia’s Parliament Speaker vowed that at need, an investigative commission would be established in the legislative body.

Every crime must be comprehensively investigated and there must be no question marks over the outcome of any investigation.

Tordia is the head of one of the most important agencies in Georgia, and it should be clearly established, with relevant evidence, whether the clash was because of the audit agency's activities or not, and who was the true initiator of the clash.

Whether there really was an illegal deal between Partskhaladze and the Mayor’s Office must also be examined under scrutiny.