Georgian Patriarch calls for “joint investigation” of assassination attempt

The government and church authorities must come together to jointly investigate the case of Giorgi Mamaladze, head of the Georgian Christian Orthodox Church Illia II said at a meeting with president Giorgi Margvelashvili, referring to a Georgian priest accused of plotting to poison “a high-ranking member of Georgian clergy”.

“The situation is nothing like anything our church has ever had to deal with. And this is the problem of the state, as well as of the church itself. This is why the government must get involved,” the Catholicos Patriarch said.

President Margvelashvili said after the meeting the presumption of innocence had been violated in this case.

“Everybody must be given a chance to speak up and to defend their side of the story,” he said. “The law-enforcement bodies should be allowed to do their job unimpeded by any political interferences, whereas Father Giorgi [Mamaladze] and his lawyer must have an opportunity to tell their story to the public.”

Mamaladze is going to break his silence and testify one of these days, his lawyer said.

Catholicos Patriarch Illia II came back to Tbilisi on February 20, after undergoing a gall bladder surgery in a hospital in Berlin.