Ossetian Terrorists Sentenced to Life Imprisonment

Ossetian Terrorists Sentenced to Life Imprisonment

On 1st February 2005, the criminal case regarding the organizers of the Gori terrorist attacks ended in the Gori Regional Court. The case, launched with fanfare, resulted in the life imprisonment of those convicted of the terrorist acts. Despite the fact that the Ossetians begged to be pardoned, the Shida Kartli Prosecutor’s Office demanded the ultimate penalty. The head of the Court allowed the Prosecutor’s Office’s request and sentenced the perpetrators to life.

The preliminary investigation proved that early in 2004, Anatoli Ivanovich Sisoev, a Colonel of the Chief Intelligence Department of the General HQ within the Russian Federation’s Defense Ministry, established criminal group within the Defense Ministry of South Ossetia’s, the so called, ‘Self-Proclaimed Republic’. This group was under the supervision of the Chief Intelligence Department for the further arrangement of terrorist acts on Georgian territory and to open hostilities against Georgia.

At different periods of time, the group consisted of Dimitri Tasov, former head of the South Ossetian Central Intelligence Department (an MP at present), Andrei Zaseev, the chief of the unit at the aforementioned department, Gigo Valishvili, Artur Kozaev, Giorgi Zaseev, Lekso Tsxovrebov, Vasil Kokoev and Vladimer Phukhaev. At different times, the members of the group were trained tactically, physically and psychologically by officers of the Chief Intelligence Department of the General HQ within the Russian Federation’s Defense Ministry, known as ‘Vladimerovich’, ‘Roma’, ‘Sasha’ and ‘Igor’.

Gigo Valishvili, a Georgian citizen, living at 13 Kirovi St. in Tskhinvali, planned to implement the terrorist attack along with Andrei Zaseev, chief of a unit called the ‘South Ossetian’ Central Intelligence Department and other members of this unit; Artur Kozaev, Giorgi Zaseev, Lekso Tskhovrebov, Vasil Kokoev and Vladimer Phukhaev. They were to implement the attack under the supervision of their instructor, a certain ‘Igor’, an officer of the Chief Intelligence Department of the General HQ within the Russian Federation’s Defense Ministry.

In November 2004, Andrei Zaseev offered to ‘Igor’ that he would carry out a terrorist attack near the building of the Shida Kartli Chief’s Regional Department. After having been agreed by Moscow and having received a certain amount of money from there, ‘Igor’ gave $1,100 to Vasil Kokoev to buy a car.

In Tbilisi on the 12th December 2004, Kokoev together with Ioseb Kochiev, from the Tskhinvali region in the village of Gujaburi, bought a white car a ‘vaz-21011’ (state # EEE 486) from Ioseb Sokhashvili, who lived in village of Kanda.. The car was taken to Tskhinvali on the same day and was parked in the garage of Vladimir Phukhaev’s neighbor in the ‘Massive’ district. Afterwards it was driven to the yard of Artur Kozaev’s uncle in the ‘Textile’ district.

The next day, under’ Igor’s orders, Gigo Valishvili and other members of the unit, Artur Kozaev, Valeri Kozaev, Giorgi Zaseev, Aleksandre Bazhanov and Lekso Tskhovrebovi were on duty in the aforementioned mentioned house. According to Igor’s orders, they began to take the car to pieces - to put an explosive substance into it. They placed nearly 70 kilograms of an explosive mixture of Trotil and ‘Hexogen’ into the glove box. They also placed a home-made explosive device, concealed inside an ‘Aiva’ cigarette box, into the glove box.

Georgian law enforcement officials cannot determine whether the explosion was set off by remote control or not. One of the witnesses questioned, said that whilst passing by the car she had heard a noise. She remembers hearing something ‘switch on’ inside the car. The woman passed behind the car and the direction of the explosion was towards the building in front of the car. That is why the woman, having left the Passport Department during the break, survived.

The explosion caused the death of three policemen. Several civilians were also injured. The members of the criminal group learned about the terrorist attack on arriving in Tskhinvali. On that same evening at 8p.m., at the house of Artur Kozaev’s uncle in the ‘Textile’ district, ‘Igor’ handed $1,000USD to Andrei Zaseev. The money was for their perfectly executed work and was divided among them.

Later in February, according to the orders of ‘Igor’, who had gone to Moscow, they received $700 more from ‘Roma’, another officer of the Chief Intelligence Department of the General HQ within the Russian Federation’s Defense Ministry. 

As is evident, the Georgian law enforcement officials learned of the details on the terrorist act after ‘SODI’ and regional police officials arrested Giorgi Avalishvili and his friend Giorgi Zaseev near the village of Avnev in Kareli region on 17th July 2005. Drugs were found on both Valishvili and Zaseev.
 
Only the two people above were arrested from the aforementioned gang. They pleaded guilty and the other details of the attack became clear after they made their plea.

The detainees’ lawyer, Beso Kaishauri, says that it is crime to sentence them to ultimate penalty. At that time, the security policeman changed his testimony during the trial. According to his initial testimony, Zaseev was detained in Tbilisi. A special operation, according to official information was held in the village of Avnev. During the court’s investigation, the security policeman said that Zaseev had not been detained in Tbilisi. The lawyer, Kaishauri, considers the use of the ultimate penalty here to be a great crime and those people, who have sentenced the Ossetians, are facing the apocalypse.

Saba Tsitsikashvili, Gori