“The involvement of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in the assassination attempt against MP Givi Targamadze in 2016 should be of particular interest to the investigation.”
Oku.AzAccording to TASS, this was stated by the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, during his speech at the briefing.
It should be recalled that in September law enforcement officers were convicted in absentia for organizing the conspiracy against Targamadze in 2016. wanted David (Darço) Khechuashvili was arrested. Khechuashvili illegally crossed the border between Georgia and Türkiye on September 19 and was detained by border guards. According to the Georgian prosecutor’s office, in his statement after his arrest, David Khechuashvili said that the order to track Targamadze was given by former president Mikheil Saakashvili, who was in Ukraine at the time. The assassination attempt took place on October 4, 2016, shortly before the parliamentary elections. At that time, the car in which Targamadze was traveling exploded and as a result five people were injured, but there were no deaths.
“The accused Darcho Khechuashvili confirmed with his statements that in 2016 he received the task of monitoring Givi Targamadze with the participation of Mikheil Saakashvili and Giya Lordkipanidze (former deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia – ed.). The Targamadze explosion The incident of car was a serious incident three days before the parliamentary elections and was probably done to influence the elections. The discovery of Mikheil Saakashvili and Giya Lordkipanidze’s traces in this crime is thought-provoking and should be of special interest to the government. investigation,” Kobakhidze said.
It should be noted that Saakashvili, who is currently a citizen of Ukraine, left Georgia in 2013. In 2016, he worked as governor of the Ukrainian Odessa region. In Georgia, four criminal cases were opened against Saakashvili, two of which the politician was sentenced in absentia to three and six years in prison.
Cases related to the destruction of the opposition rally on November 7, 2007, the destruction of the office of the Georgian television company “Imedi” and the embezzlement of state funds in the amount of approximately 9 million lari (more than 3.3 million US dollars) are being considered.
In October 2021, Saakashvili secretly arrived in Georgia, but was detained, after which he was charged with a new charge of illegally crossing the border. In May 2022, due to his deteriorating health, he was taken to the private clinic “Vivamed” in Tbilisi, where he is currently.
