“Russian Soldiers Looting” - NOT Surprising when Georgian Officials Have Robbed and Looted Us

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti 

The Office of the Prosecutor General started an investigation on the claimed facts of property being deprived from their rightful owners under serve duress, which includes blackmail, acts  violence and threats of being framed and arrested. Back in October 2007. Manana Macharashvili and Tamar Tarashvili, now the former owners of commercial units in the center of Sighnaghi town, gave detailed testimonies and provided all necessary evidence to the investigation. However, no active steps have been taken by the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Manana Macharashvili stated that on January 10, 2007 she met Gia Inanishvili, the Sighnaghi District Governor. The governor told her she had to transfer her property, which consisted of a plot in Sighnaghi, and requested to transfer her property free-of-charge to the state out of public interests and in light as Sighnaghi was being rehabilitated. He also offered to sign a purchase contract. However, Manana Macharashvili refused to agree to either of these two offers.

Inanishvili did not give up so easily, and tried to negotiate with Macharashvili several days later in closing a deal. He said that there was an investor who could pay her 300 US Dollars for one square meter of her territory. He advised Macharashvili to cooperate with the government. If not Inanishvili warned Macharashvili that the state financial police would start investigating her business, she owned a shop which was situated on the disputable plot. Inanishvili also said that the government would also destroy the shop on the allegation that the shop was not suited in terms of how it blended with the city landscape and scenary. However, even this threat was not enough to force Manana Macharashvili to hand over her property to the state.

On August 21, 2007 Macharashvili’s shop was inspected by the financial police. “The representatives of the financial police advised me to sell my shop. They said if I refused they would find evidence against us and my husband would be arrested, as he is the official proprietor of this shop on documents,” stated Macharashvili.

Tamar Tarashvili is the second person Gia Inanishvili, Sighnaghi District Governor, offered to sell her property, the shop. He threatened Tarashvili that the financial police would study her business and destroy the shop allegedly because the shop was infringing the town scenery. Tamar Tarashvili offered that she would repair the shop to fit into the town scenery. However, the Sighnaghi City Hall refused the offer.

Tamar Tarashvili’s shop was inspected by the financial police as well. “The financial police representatives did not show their IDs. They suggested me to sell the shop. They also told me that if I refused on that they would fine me and the fine would be rather substantial,” stated Tarashvili.

On August 31, 2007  at midnight, Tamar Tarashvili, Manana Macharashvili and her husband, Tamaz Gorelishvili were taken by the police by force and under the arrest threat to Sighnaghi notary office. They were forced to sign the document on selling their property. Manana Macharashvili says that the representatives of the financial police, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia and General Prosecutor’s Office were actively involved in the process.

By the time Tamaz Gorelishvili signed the property selling document by force, his property had been sequestered by Telavi Tax Inspection. This fact can be proved by the extract from the Civil Registry Agency.

According to the Georgian civil law, a property which is sequestered can not be sold.  Article 25 of Georgian Law on Real Estate Right Registration a person shall be refused on registering a real estate on his name if this property is sequestered. However, the civil registry agency registered Tamaz Gorelishvili’s property on other person’s name despite the fact that the property was sequestered.

When some time passed from the incident, the proprietors lodged an appeal to the Office of the Prosecutor General. The Prosecutor’s Office started investigation based on Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Georgia for the abuse of power. Macharashvili and Tarashvili gave detailed testimonies to the investigation and presented the evidence. However, their effort have all been in vain. The investigation is still under way and no one has been charged for the abuse of power up to the present time.

This is when Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia states that the protection of property rights is his most important priority. Macharashvili and Tarashvili, the owners who had their property rights violated have informed the President of Georgia in person about their problem. This was when Saakashvili was in Kakheti Region in pre-election period in spring 2008. President Saakashvili promised to help them. However, no one expressed interest to this issue in the aftermath the of the election period. 

“Russian soldiers’ looting does not come as any big  surprise when governmental officials of my own country have robbed and looted us,  stated Manana Macharashvili.