Georgian Prosecutor's Office suspects Saakashvili of involvement in the 2016 assassination attempt on the opposition leader

The Georgian Prosecutor's Office announced the possible involvement of former President Mikheil Saakashvili in the case of the attempted murder of opposition leader Givi Targamadze in 2016, UNN reports citing Novosti Georgia.

The agency says that it has established new circumstances based on the testimony of David (Darcho) Khechuashvili, the accused in the attempted murder. On September 20, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that he was detained during an attempt to illegally cross the border from Turkey.

According to the testimony, in the summer of 2016, Khechuashvili met with Shota (Mevlud) Chichiachvili in Ukraine. The latter said that he had recently met with Saakashvili and former Deputy Interior Minister Gia Lortkipanidze.

Allegedly, the ex-president suspected Targamadze of collaborating with the Georgian Dream and instructed Chichiaishvili to keep an eye on him.

According to the prosecutor's office, Chichiashvili asked Khechuashvili to help with surveillance, promising in return "an appointment to a good position in Odesa.

According to these testimonies, it turns out that Khechuashvili was not the perpetrator, but simply followed Targamadze when the politician's car was blown up on October 4, 2016.

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According to media reports, Shota (Mevlud) Chichiachvili is a criminal mastermind known for high-profile cases in Georgia in the early 2000s. Under Saakashvili, he was imprisoned for 22 years in Georgia, but was granted amnesty after the Georgian Dream came to power. Chichiashvili was released in 2013, and in the fall of 2019, he was killed in a shootout with police in Kyiv.

After the assassination attempt on Targamadze, David Khechuashvili illegally moved to Turkey.

Back in 2019, the Tbilisi City Court found him guilty of attempted aggravated murder, illegal acquisition and storage of weapons and ammunition, and destruction of other people's property. Khechuashvili was sentenced to 18 years in prison in absentia. The media reported that during Saakashvili's presidency, Khechuashvili worked at the Constitutional Security Department of the Georgian Interior Ministry.

The car of Georgian MP Givi Targamadze exploded near the National Movement office in the center of Tbilisi on October 4, 2016, four days before the parliamentary elections. At the time of the explosion, Targamadze and his driver were in the car, and they sustained light injuries, while five passersby were seriously injured.

The only detainee in the case was Boris Chagunava. He was charged with illegal storage of weapons and explosives in his garage for Khechuashvili. In February 2017, Chagunava was conditionally sentenced to 4 years and released.