New Charge Against MP Levan Pirveli

Parliamentarian Allegedly Shoots at Member of Anticorruption Council

Non-governmental organizations demand annulment of immunity of parliament member Levan Pirveli . 27 organizations addressed the Parliament with this demand.

Reason of this demand by several NGOs is an incident between Levan Pirveli and Givi Targamadze, member of Anticorruption Council on November 17. (Givi Targamadze is one of the founders of “Liberty Institute” organization).

As Givi Targamadze explains, he was celebrating friend’s birthday at the restaurant, when unknown person approached and asked to go out with him. In that moment Levan Pirveli appeared form the left side and hit Targamadze into face. After that Pirveli and his bodyguards opened fire, but, fortunately no one was injured. Parliament member and the bodyguards were drunk.

NGOs declare that such actions of Levan Pirveli are not something exceptional. He has been suspected in such accidents before as well. In 1999 a young man was shot in “Tamarioni” restaurant. Pirveli was a prime suspect in the case.

The police was dispatched to the place of the accident, however they refrained from interfering “because of Priveli’s immunity and influential reputation”. “You are young people. Forget this corruption things” – said one of the policemen to Givi Targamadze and his friends.

The fact is very alarming, since it concerns member of the parliament and member of the Anticorruption Council, actions of whom are very well known. Givi Targamadze is an author of number of publications regarding corruption in energy field. These publications point directly at Levan Pirveli. Member of the Anticorruption Council believes that Pirveli is opposing him because of these very publications.

In 1999 when Targamadze was only a member of “Liberty Institute”, he alleged “Anglo Oil International” company, belonging to Levan Pirveli, in corruption. A contract concluded between the Government and the company obliges the Government to pay 46 million USD debt.

Levan Pirveli denies the incident saying that this accusation is total absurd.

 “If one has lot of money, or if one has close relations with Shevardnadze’s family, than one can feel invulnerable to the law” – says David Zurabashvili, board member of the “Liberty Institute”. This fact reminds him Georgia of 1992-93, period of total disorder when the force was solution to everything.

“I never thought that after intrusion to Rustavi 2 office, anyone from the government, e.g. those who thought that no one would punish them, would dare to demonstrate the force again” – says Tinatin Khidasheli, board member of “Young Lawyers Association” and blames Shevardnadze for creating this syndrome in the country.

Chairman of the non-governmental organization “Former Political Prisoners for Human Rights” Nana Kakabadze qualified the accident as a terrorist act. “They dare to use force against those, who speak the truth about the situation in our country” – says Kakabadze.

Nana Kakabadze believes that if the crime case would be launched, the outcome of investigation would be a clear example showing to which extent the Government is going to combat the corruption.

By Salome Jashi, Civil Georgia