Prosecutor’s Office says Saakashvili ‘Sanctioned’ Patarkatsishvili’s Murder
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, October 18
The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office announced yesterday that Georgia’s third President, Mikheil Saakashvili was interested in the murder of late billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili, as the latter, who was found dead in his apartment in UK in 2008, was harshly opposing his government.
The office reported that they seized two recordings in 2016 which included conversations of former interior ministry officials, where the three individuals are allegedly discussing scenarios for Patarkatsishvili’s murder.
The office says the recordings only prove that the United National Movement government was plotting such murder, without any evidence that Patarkatsishvili was really murdered.
Former official of the Constitutional Security Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs under the United National Movement government G.M. has been detained, while two other former top figures of the same agency L.K. and R.Sh have been charged for plotting murder and abuse of authority.
One of the charged R.Sh does not admit to the charge.
In the recordings released by the Chief Prosecutor’s office several individuals are speaking about collecting information about Patarkatsishvili’s bodyguards and his close circle and also say that the man could be poisoned with such a substance for everyone to think he died naturally.
Patarkatsishvili was found dead at his Surrey mansion in England on 12 February 2008, shortly after he fled Georgia as he was accused of organizing a coup against the United National Movement government.
The UK police found no trace that the man, whose property amounted to about 12 billion USD, was assassinated and heart-related problems was named as a reason of the sudden death.
Patarkatsishvili, who was born in Tbilisi, accumulated his property in Russia and arrived in Georgia in 2001 as he faced legal problems in the country.
He founded the Imedi TV channel and invested money in the banking sector and the Tbilisi Dinamo football club.
He was one of the financial supporters of Saakashvili during the anti-Eduard Shevardnadze rallies, which led to the peaceful revolution in 2003.
Relations between Saakashvili and Patarkatsishvili went wrong in the wake of controversial death of former PM Zurab Zhvania in 2005, with still many thinking that the PM was murdered.
Since then Patarkatsishvili had used his TV channel against the UNM and revealed his support to Saakashvili’s opposition.
He backed large-scale, anti-government rallies in 2007, which forced Saakashvili resign and schedule early elections.
On 7 November Imedi TV was raided and closed and Patarkatsishvili had to leave the country as he was accused of organizing a coup.
From the UK he said that he would run for precedent and did no, but came third in the January 5, 2008 elections which was won by Saakashvili.
