Criminal declared as Georgia’s first terrorist dies in Ukraine
By Tsotne Pataraia
Thursday, October 3
Shota Chichiashvili, a former number one terrorist in Georgia in the 2000s, was killed in Ukraine.
Shota Chichiashvili, a Georgian citizen killed as a result of a special operation in Ukraine, was found to be the number one terrorist. The information was confirmed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia.
The identity of the deceased was initially unknown. According to the Ukrainian National Police, he was sentenced to 22 years in prison for a crime committed in another state. He was charged with creating a criminal gang, kidnapping people and carrying a firearm. Following local media, it became clear that a Georgian citizen shot and wounded two Ukrainian special forces 10 days ago. Police found him in the Khotianovka settlement. The Killed Georgian was soon identified.
Shota Chichiashvili led a criminal gang operating in Pankisi in the 2000s. His name is associated with numerous noisy kidnappings and terrorist acts.
Chichiashvili's name was mentioned in connection with the murder of Giorgi Sanaia (famous Georgian journalist critical to the government). On February 18, 2018, Rustavi 2 TV reported that Konstantine Tsikhistavi (currently in prison), a former member of Shota Chichiashvili's gang, shed light on several additional circumstances of the murder. According to the TV station, Tsikhistavi claimed that Giorgi Sanaia had been killed by Shota Chachiashvili and this political assassination was planned by Shevardnadze's government.
Shota Chichiashvili's name was also connected to the case of the explosion of Givi Targamadze's (the member of the opposition party “European Georgia”) car. Targamadze claims that Chichiashvili was behind the explosion of his car. Targamadze's car exploded on Atoneli Street in Tbilisi on October 4, 2016, ahead of the parliamentary elections. Davit (Dracho) Khechuashvili is the defendant, in this case, left the country after the incident. The case also includes Khechuashvili's son-in-law and Dimitri Abramishvili, who was reportedly close to Shota Chichiashvili. Chachiashvili himself denied any relation with the explosion of Targamadze's car.
Shota Chichiashvili. was sentenced to 22 years in prison for organizing terrorist acts and crimes against the state. Chichiashvili was arrested in Moscow. He was extradited to Georgia in 2004. In 2013, he was released under a general amnesty.
