“On July 28, Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri had a telephone conversation with Soso Gogashvili, former Deputy Head of the State Security Service, in prison,” Gogashvili’s lawyer Ramaz Chinchaladze said at the briefing.
According to him, as stated by Ioseb Gogashvili, the conversation was rather tense and mainly related to threats.
“On July 28, Ioseb Gogashvili, who is placed in the 12th penitentiary establishment, was taken to the so-called shower, bathroom, and he was told to answer a phone placed on the windowsill. A few minutes later the phone rang. Ioseb Gogashvili, of course, answered and the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia talked to him. As Ioseb Gogashvili states, the conversation between them was quite tense and was mainly about threats – he was told to think about what would happen to him, his family members and relatives in case he did not keep silent, etc.
“The conversation between Ioseb Gogashvili and the Minister of Internal Affairs took place in the same manner the next day as well. The next day, Gogashvili was requested to be silent and to tell his family members the same. He was also requested to provide information they wanted. Since it was necessary to silence not only Ioseb Gogashvili, but also his family members, they promised Ioseb Gogashvili that they would bring his family members to the 12th penitentiary institution, so that he could tell them to keep silent. Ioseb Gogashvili met his family members twice, despite the fact there was an official decree forbidding him to meet with family members or any person, except for lawyers”, said the lawyer.
