Prosecutor’s Office claims first President’s son was illegally sentenced

The Chief Prosecutor's Office of Georgia is reinvestigating the sentences of two individuals believed to have been "illegally sentenced" under the former (United National Movement UNM) government.

Today a spokesperson from the Chief Prosecutor's Office said the agency would address the Court of Appeals to recheck the sentences of two people, one of whom was the son of Georgia’s First President, the late Zviad  Gamsakhurdia.

The Prosecutor's Office said Tsotne Gamsakhurdia and former employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Giorgi Bebua were "illegally sentenced” under the former UNM-led government. 

The Office said under the Georgian Dream leadership, it had re-studied the two cases and concluded the charges against the two people had been "invented".

In April 2010 Tbilisi City Court found Gamsakhurdia guilty of attempted murder and illegal possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to nine years, six months in prison.

Representatives from the Chief Prosecutor's Office met Gamsakhurdia (R) and Bebua this afternoon. Photo by the Prosecutor's Office press service.  

Gamsakhurdia denied the charges against him. 

While serving his sentence, he was also accused of offering a bribe to a prison employee in exchange of handing a letter to his family. 

He was found guilty and sentenced to a further five years behind bars. 

Gamsakhurdia did not have to serve his full sentence and was released from prison on October 23, 2012 after being pardoned by then-president Mikheil Saakashvili at the request of Georgia’s Patriarch Ilia II. The pardon came shortly after the Georgian Dream coalition defeated UNM in the 2012 Parliamentary Elections. 

The Chief Prosecutor’s Office said evidence obtained showed the bribe charge against Gamsakhurdia had been invented as a way to further punish him as Gamsakhurdia was continually speaking out about the violation of human rights of inmates and this had "irritated” UNM officials

Meanwhile the other individual having his sentence rechecked was Giorgi Bebua. The Prosecutor's Office claimed Bebua, who served in the Constitutional Security Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2010, had false charges laid against him after he had a disagreement with the Department’s leadership. 

The Prosecutor’s Office said Bebua was forced to admit he had taken a bribe and as a result, was unlawfully sent to prison for 11 years. 

Bebua was released from prison in 2012 after being pardoned by the President.