Chair of Akhmeta Municipal Board Threatened Georgian Dream’s Supporters

Chairman of the Akhmeta Municipal Board Aleksi Mailashvili threatened the supporters of the Georgian Dream in Kistauri village. Head of the Georgian Dream’s Akhmeta district office informed the ICK about it.

He said on May 10, the Georgian Dream’s representatives met residents of the Kistauri village; after their departure Aleksi Mailashvili arrived in the village and seized Georgian Dream’s newspapers from the meeting participants.

“We met Kistauri village residents; our party members arrived there. Representatives of our youth branch distributed newspapers and invitation letters in the village; we invited them to attend the meeting with coalition leaders in Akhmeta at 2:00 pm next day. Afterwards, Aleksi Mailashvili arrived in Kistauri; he is local resident and is ordered not to allow opposition parties to meet his villagers. Mailashvili seized newspapers from villagers and threatened them. He warned they already knew who had met opposition leaders and their family members will likely be punished for it. The village governor Gia Kvitsashvili also joined him and threatened his neighbor with creating serious problems. Correspondingly, even half of Kistauri residents could not arrive in Akhmeta to meet the Georgian Dream’s leaders. Mailashvili personally intimidated part of them and sent mediators to others. The village governor told local resident Malkhaz Zankaidze he would not able to enter his own house after meeting the opposition party leaders. Kvitsashvili and chairman of the municipal board patrol in the village like gendarmeries,” Zakaria Kinkladze said.

“During the meeting in the village Saaki Sakashvili was also in the village; he works in the district administration; the district governor’s driver was also there; village governor Gia Kvitsashvili and his deputy also attended the meeting. They wrote everybody’s name who was attending the meeting. Then the village governor took me aside and rebuked me for having met coalition leaders in Akhmeta because it could fail their plans. He said, I would not be able to enter my house if I go there. So, everything became clear; it was intimidation and everything. Aleksi Mailashvili ordering everybody not to meet them [coalition leaders],” Malkhaz Zankaidze told ICK.

Gia Kvitsashvili categorically denied the information about intimidation of Georgian Dream’s supporters.

 ICK called Aleksi Mailashvili to get his comment on the issue.

-Mr. Aleksi we would like to ask you a question.

-What are you interested in?

-We are interested in the intimidation fact of the Kistauri residents who met Georgian Dream’s representatives.

-I am busy, and cannot answer your question.

ICK called Mailashvili later again but he refused to make the comment on the issue claiming he was busy again.

Natia Danelishvili, ICK