Chief Prosecutor’s Office's “special team” to investigate businessman’s first-degree murder

A Georgian businessman Besik Khardziani, who previously accused ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili’s government of illegally seizing his property was shot dead near his Tbilisi house on Saturday morning.

The "special investigative team" has been established to investigate the murder as said in a written statement issued by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office today. The prosecutors launched an investigation into Khardziani’s case and are treating it as "premeditated murder”.

Besik Khardziani, the owner of property at Tbilisi’s popular recreational zone Kus Tba (Turtle Lake), died of multiple gunshot wounds in hospital several hours after the shooting. 

Khardziani was among a group of entrepreneurs who claimed their properties had been illegally seized by the country’s previous government.

As Agenda.ge earlier reported, during Saakashvili’s presidential term it was believed some property owners were forced or threatened to hand over their properties to the former government for free or for a symbolic amount of money; and some successful business owners were pressured by the former ruling United National Movement (UNM) party to hand over company shares to party members.

During the UNM government, Khardziani spent two years in jail. He claimed he was imprisoned because UNM tried to force him to share his business with them. After refusing the offer, he was arrested and put behind bars.

After the change of government in late 2012, Khardziani filed a lawsuit in an attempt to regain his property. He won the initial court case however the case was since being heard in the Court of Appeals.

Meanwhile, the late businessman’s friends and family members believed the murder was related with this court case. They told local media the person who they believed "ordered the murder” was linked with UNM.

Khardziani’s friends said the late businessman had been threatened and he "expected he could be killed”.

 Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili conveyed his condolences to the victim’s family and instructed the Chief Prosecutor’s Office to "promptly” investigate the case.