Georgian opposition figure Valeri Gelbakhiani was detained by the police on Georgia-Armenia border after four years of search. Gelbakhiani, who was tried in absentia ion 2008, was wanted by the police since February 4, 2008 and only today he was arrested.
Gelbakhiani was charged with the attempt of pltting to overthrow the constitutional order in Georgia on January 22, 2008. Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia released a special statement regarding the detention of the chief of late Georgian presidential candidate Badri Patarkatsishvili`s headquarters.
According to the investigation, Valeri Gelbakhiani and former judge Marina Gabunia prepared a plot aimed at the violent change of the constitutional order in
Georgia, according to which, the group had to form special groups, which will disrupt elections in various regions of Georgia and they should organize street protests of the people as if discontent with the results of the elections. At the same time, the plot included bribing over ministry of interior authorities, which would assist the plotter to detain Interior Minister.
All aforementioned details of the plan were agreed with the late presidential candidate Arkadi Patarkatsishvili. Under the agreement of the late tycoon, Gelbakhiani met with the chief of the Special Operative Department of the MIA Erekle Kodua in London, where the details of the plot were discussed. Georgian law enforcers organized secret recording of the of the 18 December 2007 meeting between Erekle Kodua, Marina Gabunia, and Valeri Gelbakhiani. Kodua was guaranteed political and financial guarantees if he cooperated with the plotters.
