Georgian high officials charged of military coup speak out
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"Those three men who were ordered to kill us in the vehicle have received 12,000 GEL for our heads,” said a high officials who were charged in the Mukhrovani incident.
Former political prisoner Major Levan Amiridze has spoken out after a scandalous video was leaked on internet last night, where the ex-minister of Internal Affairs Vano Merabishvili ordered armed forces to bring him "two dead bodies”.
The former commander of the Ranger Battalion 41 and two other military high officials have been accused of the defying the government in 2009, known as "Mukhrovani Coup”.
"Merabishvili ordered those three men to shoot us and stage the environment as if we had attempted to escape,” Amiridze said.
"I also know that one of the military high officials appealed to these men to stop.”
Amiridze believed the video was made on May 5, 2009. He recognised many of the men pictured in the video and said they were high officials of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Military officials allegedly fulfilled Merabishvili’s order on May 20, 2009. Major Levan Amiridze, Colonel Koba Otanadze and General Gia Krialashvili were pulled over in their vehicle on the Tianeti highway and shot inside the vehicle. Krialashvili died at the scene but the two others survived although they were seriously injured.
According to the official version of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Krialashvili died and Otanadze and Amiridze were injured in direct exchange of fire. Otanadze disputed this and said the trio were shot from behind.
"Those who shot and injured us then took us out of the car and we were beaten,” Otanadze said. "One of them made a direct shot at my chest.”
An earlier investigation into the ‘Mukhrovani coup’ was completed in nine months. Otanadze and Amiridze were charged with an attempted coup and military riot and sentenced to 29 and 28 years imprisonment respectively.
The commander of the tank battalion Shota Gorgiashvili was accused of being an accessory of the coup and was sentenced to 19 years behind bars.
All three were released in 2012 after the Parliamentary Elections due to a Mass Amnesty.
Scandalous video has been leaked online revealing details of a special operation led by the former government in May, 2009.
Merabishvili: "I need two men, two dead bodies, bring the two dead bodies to me, that’s it! The bonus will be high."
Georgian men accused and convicted in the Mukhrovani case are demanding answers and re-investigation of their cases. Their requests were in response to the release of a scandalous video which showed details of a special operation by the former government.
Georgia’s Prosecutor’s Office has started investigating a video showing former Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili demanding "two dead bodies” in exchange for a "high bonus” from military servicemen.
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"I am not an expert to discuss this video.”
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Georgia’s ex-Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili says people have misinterpreted his words "I need two dead bodies” in the video that leaked on the internet yesterday.
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