Anri Okhanashvili Was On Board the Plane That Kidnapped Me - Giorgi Bachiashvili

Ivanishvili resorted to criminal methods—to kidnapping. It was the same method by which his brother was kidnapped in the 90s, the method by which Kaladze's brother was kidnapped for precisely the same purpose: extortion. The only difference was that those extortionists and kidnappers had not seized the state."

I was brought to Georgia illegally, with my head covered with a sack, in violation of all norms, international law, and Georgian law. This was a special operation concocted by Ivanishvili and executed by the State Security Service. Anri Okhanashvili was on board the plane that kidnapped me.

Perhaps it's not unexpected to you, but Anri Okhanashvili is investigating this crime. That is, the State Security Service is investigating an international crime committed by itself.

Tell me, how can I find justice, where can I defend myself? How can I entrust myself and justice to a government I've seen cowering at the boss's door? How can I entrust myself to a court that, based on Ivanishvili's oral testimony, put me and my family through hell for two years? That was the only evidence in my case. How can I trust a system that has divided Georgia in two, applying one law to one group and another to another? Soon, perhaps two constitutions will be adopted for us. Some people say on television that it's great, see, there's no torture. Well, ask our parents if it's not torture. Ask the parents of those arrested young people, the parents of prisoners of conscience, their families, Mzia Amaghlobeli's family, if this isn't torture," - Giorgi Bachiashvili stated at a court hearing where another case against him related to Mtkvari HPP was being reviewed.

On May 27, the State Security Service itself released information stating that Giorgi Bachiashvili, a dual citizen of Georgia and the Russian Federation, who was wanted with a red circular and convicted, was arrested near the so-called "green border" section between Red Bridge and Sadakhlo. 

On May 29, at a hearing in Tbilisi City Court, Giorgi Bachiashvili stated that he was abducted from abroad to be returned to Georgia. “On May 24, I was abducted from abroad. They blindfolded and left me like that for two days without access to a lawyer, prosecutor, judge, or the ability to notify or speak with family members. Subsequently, I was directly kidnapped and shoved onto a Georgian Airways Bombardier aircraft and brought to Georgia in violation of all laws. The Georgian government had no way to extradite me because the Interpol search for me had been suspended as a result of my lawyers' appeal”, said Bachiashvili.

Giorgi Bachiashvili secretly left Georgia on March 4. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs investigation, Bachiashvili secretly crossed into Armenia using a special hiding place in his car and then flew to Qatar using a Russian passport. Bachiashvili is being investigated under Article 344, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which pertains to illegal border crossing and carries a sentence of three to five years of imprisonment.

On March 10, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison in absentia on a “Bitcoin case”. Bachiashvili was sued by Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder and honorary chairman of Georgian Dream. According to the Prosecutor's Office, Bachiashvili transferred only $536,900 to Bidzina Ivanishvili in exchange for the full profit from his investment, while unlawfully appropriating the remaining 8,986 Bitcoins belonging to the investor, valued at approximately $43 million at the time of their appropriation. Giorgi Bachiashvili denies the charges.