Gogita Arkania Accused in Terrorist Acts Served In Georgian Army Before October 2008

The Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia Vano Merabishvili gave the next interview to “Ekho Maskvi”. The Minister reported to the Journalist Matvei Ganapolski about the detention of the organizers of the terrorist acts in Georgia. As Merabishvili said they had organized several terrorist acts in West Georgia, in Zugdidi district.
According to the Minister the group had worked in Georgia for about 17 months.
“Gogita Arkania is supposedly the head of the group who received directives from Russian officers. I think he became a spy in 1998 and served in the armed forces till October of 2008. After when he was dismissed from the Ministry of Defense for drug-addiction, the commanders started to use him as an informer, who could provide them with the information about armed forces of Georgia. He participated in the mission of Georgian Armed Forces in Iraq too. After they lost hope of using Arkania as a spy, they started to use him as a terrorist”, the Minister said.

Journalist asked what evidences became the ground for their allegation that the terrorist acts were ordered by Russian Special Forces, Merabishvili answered, he did not want to make a political statement. “Now I am not speaking as a minister, but as a representative of the law enforcement institution. We have some information, among them phone conversations recorded soon after the explosions on the phone numbers registered on the Russian Defense Ministry. Believe me, the bombs they used are the best equipped of all I have ever seen. So, everything was done at a high level.”

On December 4, MIA arrested a group of six people accused in the explosions in September-November in Georgia. They received directives from the Russian Major Evgeni Borisov who serves in Gali district. According to the MIA, two suspects sheltered occupied territory of Abkhazia. The detainees are residents of Gali district. One of them is Gogita Arkania. One of the explosions in Javakhishvili Street near the office of the Labor Party in Tbilisi resulted into casualty.

Interpresnews