Georgian law enforcement officers arrest person wanted for attempted murder of former opposition MP

Georgian law enforcement officers on Thursday arrested the person wanted for the alleged attempted murder of Givi Targamadze, a former opposition member of the Georgian Parliament.

Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, on Friday said the wanted individual had entered the country through the so-called green zone on the Turkish-Georgian border.

On September 19, on the Turkish-Georgian border, a person who illegally crossed the state border of Georgia was detected by the technical means of observation installed at the Kartsakhi border section of the Border Police. Border police officers stopped him for inspection. The mentioned person entered the Georgian territory from Turkey”, Darakhvelidze said.

The official noted the officers had made an initial identification of the detained individual, and the information received through the Ministry’s databases revealed that the person stopped at the border was the one wanted by the police since 2016, and Interpol since 2017.

We would like to note that D.Kh was found guilty by Tbilisi City Court for the attempted murder committed under aggravating circumstances, as well as illegal acquisition, storage, carrying and selling of firearms, ammunition, explosives and explosive devices, as well as for damage and destruction of property, and had been sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment”, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs noted.

He added the investigation into the case of the attempted murder of Targamadze was in progress at Tbilisi Police Department in order to identify and arrest others involved in the crime.