Leader of Georgia’s United National Movement: "My husband was abducted to intimidate me"
Georgian politician on abduction of her husband
Tina Bokuchava, leader of Georgia’s opposition United National Movement party, has said that the video in which her husband Kote Ioseliani apologises to the son of Bidzina Ivanishvili was preceded by his abduction and hours of pressure.
It was revealed today that Kote Ioseliani has been summoned for questioning by the Interior Ministry.
Yesterday, Ioseliani published a video in which he once again apologises to Bidzina Ivanishvili’s son, Uta, for a past statement — one he had already publicly apologised for once before.
“Late at night, five masked men attacked my husband near our home, where we live with our three small children. They failed to cause him serious injury, but after a scuffle, they forced him into a car, blindfolded him, and took him away in handcuffs to an unknown location.
We cannot determine the exact place he was taken to, but judging by the distance and direction, we believe he was brought to the so-called ‘Module’ — the State Security Service of Georgia.
There, he was subjected to psychological pressure for eight hours. His captors described his daily routines in detail, including the locations of our children’s school and kindergarten. They specifically threatened the safety of our children,” Bokuchava said.
Reaction
Nika Gvaramia, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change:
“What we know about the abduction is an absolute catastrophe. The courage of Tina Bokuchava, and her direct and principled stance in such a situation, is admirable.
We have no doubt that what happened was aimed at politically neutralising Bokuchava and the party she chairs. I fully support Tina and must repeat — Georgian Dream breaks its own ‘records’ every day.
This is not the first — and likely not the last — time that pressure has been applied in the most inhumane, un-Georgian, and criminal forms, with threats made against the most vulnerable, namely young children. This is not Georgia — this is Kadyrov’s Georgia. It is unprecedented for our country. Even Igor Giorgadze (a former KGB officer and ex-Minister of State Security — JAMNews) never went this far — at least to our knowledge — and yet Bidzina Ivanishvili and his cronies are doing it now.
In this context, we firmly declare that any cooperation with this regime — even indirect — is absolutely unthinkable. Most importantly, we call for a full boycott of the regime and its shameful performances. And by that, I mean first and foremost the local government elections, which are nothing more than an attempt by Bidzina Ivanishvili to lure the opposition into a fake electoral process that benefits only him.”
Elene Khoshtaria, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change:
“Tina’s speech today is a truly inspiring and powerful example of principled struggle, strength, leadership, and courage. Our state stands on such examples — and that is why it is destined to survive. Our fight is rooted in full solidarity, both political and public. The key to victory lies in the unity of the pro-Western majority.
Of course, I support Nika Gvaramia’s call to boycott the local government elections. I don’t even want to debate it — it’s time to end the phase where the opposition is still arguing about this issue. We must stand together, with dignity and as a united front, against this regime.”
