(Tbilisi, December 12, 2002. Civil Georgia) – A spokesman for Georgia’s Interior Ministry Paata Gomelauri said that Sadi Sharifov appeared to have died a natural death while in captivity.
Dead body of Sadi Sharifov, 79, father of the Russian energy company LUKOil’s vice-president was discovered by the roadside about 30 kilometers east of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi on December 12.
Sadi Sharifov, ethnic Azeri was abducted on December 1 from his house in Pantiani village, southern Georgia.
Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze expressed his condolences to the Sharifov family. He said that the fact should not deteriorate friendly relations between Georgian and Azeri population of the country.
Levan Mamaladze, governor of Kvemo Kartli region, where the abduction occurred, said today that the increase of the crimes in the region and in Georgia is masterminded by the particular forces in Russia, which aim at undermining of the stability in the country.
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