Police detain 18th person for possession, spreading of private Footage
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Friday, February 15
The Georgian Interior Ministry has detained Zaal Latara in western Georgia late on Wednesday for the possession and the spread of personal life footage of the Georgian Dream ruling party legislator Eka Beselia.
Lataria does not admit to the crime and says that somebody sent him the video “deliberately” as the current state leadership wanted to see him behind bars.
“It is a political prosecution. I did not even watch the video, I deleted it as soon as I received it,” Lataria told the media.
His daughter says that the Georgian Dream ruling party members are against his father as they believe that Zaal Lataria is the United National Movement opposition supporter.
Recording, storing and release of the footage related to an individual's personal life is a crime which is punishable by imprisonment from four to eight years.
Police detained 17 individuals after the statement of Beselia on 27 January that her personal life footage went viral.
Beselia connected the leak of the footage, which she says was recorded under the United National Movement leadership, to her critical attitude towards a list of ten judges presented for seats on the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Beselia said that a number of individuals linked with United National Movement [former president Mikheil Saakashvili’s party] “criminal activities” had managed to get into the Georgian Dream party and now we’re trying to land ‘lifetime appointments to the judiciary’.
Out of the 17 detained three were sent to pre-trial detention, while others were released on bail.
Beselia is demanding the detention of those who initiated the leak of the footage.
More than 181-hour-long personal life footage recorded under the UNM to exercise pressure on a few people were burnt under the Georgian Dream leadership.
However, part of the materials was saved as it covered unlawful activities and was necessary for investigations.
Under the current state leadership private life footage was spread several times.
Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia claims that investigation of cybercrimes is complicated and Georgia may ask foreign states for help.
