24 October 2012, 10:00
Tsotne Gamsakhurdia, son of first Georgian President, pardoned and released from prison
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has pardoned Tsotne Gamsakhurdia, the imprisoned son of the first Georgian President, at the request of Elias II, the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, filed on September 28. This was reported by the Patriarchate of Georgia.
Tsotne Gamsakhurdia was sentenced to 9.5 years of imprisonment on charges of attempted murder of his neighbour David Badjelidze in the course of a domestic quarrel. Besides, Tsotne Gamsakhurdia was found guilty of bribing a prison guard for illegal transportation of mail. He is also accused of espionage in favour of Russian and involvement in anti-government conspiracy. On February 28, the court found the son of the first Georgian President guilty of bribery and increased his sentence to 13 years and two months of imprisonment.
Elias II has asked pardon for Tsotne Gamsakhurdia because of deterioration of his health being kept in prison, the convict suffered from hepatitis C, which required a serious and long-term medical treatment, the agency "Trend" reports.
Last night, Tsotne Gamsakhurdia was released from the prison. At present, he is with his relatives. This was reported this morning by Keti Bekauri, the lawyer of the convict, the "Maestro" Georgian TV Channel reports.
