Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
Today the main hero of Georgian news is businessman David Kodua, who was beaten in his back and stomach. A few hours after the incident his former business partner, Noshrevan Namoradze, came to the police and confessed to the crime. Kodua and Namoradze had a joint business together, but came into conflict. According to Namoradze, Kodua decided to take his share in hand and called on his brother Erekle Kodua to help. His brother was the head of a special executive department in the Interior Ministry. Police officers broke into Namoradze’s apartments, planted fake evidence (drugs) and arrested him in front of his children. To get liberty Namoradze had a “plea bargaining” with the prosecution. He had to pay $300 thousand to the budget and give Kodua 50% of the business.
At the moment the situation resembles a classic hostile takeover of business.
Namoradze was disappointed with the government, which couldn’t “restore justice” and decided to “restore” it himself, punishing his offender. He doesn’t want to betray the friends who helped him by beating up Kodua. But the authorities aren't actively trying to find them either. It seems such an “execution” is thought to be a painful necessity in the context, when it is obvious that the ruling Georgian Dream coalition cannot fulfil its key election promise (to restore justice) without the destruction of the whole judicial system in the country, as taken-over business assets have been resold many times; and now absolutely innocent people own them, who probably don’t know about the origin of the capital.
As affected parties don’t agree with such arguments and long for revenge (most of them believe justice and revenge are one and the same thing), such incidents will continue to happen. Namoradze demonstrated how to do this. The authorities have to react carefully to avoid accusations of protection of Saakashvili’s supporters. The question is whether it has something in common with the rule of law and upcoming European association.
