Ioseb Gogashvili, the former first deputy head of the State Security Service, currently in prison, says that Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli was kidnapped on the orders of Bidzina Ivanishvili, and the footage of the kidnapping was deleted by the Operational Technical Department of the Security Service.
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Afghan Mukhtarli, who had lived in Georgia since 2015, disappeared from the centre of Tbilisi on May 29, 2017, and the next day he was found in a police cell in Azerbaijan. In Azerbaijan, Mukhtarli was accused of illegally crossing the border, smuggling a large amount of foreign currency and disobeying the police. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison.
In February 2018, the imprisoned Mukhtarli said he was a victim of the partnership between the President of Azerbaijan and the former Prime Minister of Georgia, businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili. According to the journalist, he was investigating Ilham Aliyev's business in Georgia, which is why he was kidnapped from Tbilisi and handed over to the authorities of Azerbaijan.
The government of Georgia denied the journalist's accusations about the connection of law enforcement agencies with his case. In March 2020, the Azerbaijani authorities released Mukhtarli from prison. Mukhtarli left for Germany, where his wife and son have lived since 2019. Germany granted political asylum to Mukhtarli's family.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia started the investigation into the case of Afghan Mukhtarli under the first part of Article 143 of the Criminal Code - illegal deprivation of liberty. So far, no one has been found guilty in the case, and no one has been charged with criminal charges.
Afgan Mukhtarli's case has been appealed to the European Court of Human Rights.
After Gogashvili published this statement, Archil Chofikashvili, the lawyer of Afghan Mukhtarli, petitioned the General Prosecutor and demanded an effective investigation of the case, protection of the witness (Ioseb Gogashvili), as well as an interrogation of Gogashvili and the persons named by him who are connected with the Mukhtarli case. The prosecutor's office has not questioned Soso Gogashvili on the Mukhtarli case.
Ioseb Gogashvili, who held the position of the first deputy head of the State Security Service of Georgia from 2015-2018, was arrested on July 16, 2022. The prosecutor's office accuses Gogashvili of obtaining and disclosing personal data of specific citizens by using his official positions and contacts in the past, thereby contributing to the public dissemination of the said information. As a result, he has been put on remand. If found guilty, Gogashvili faces 4 to 7 years in prison.
