Kote Ioseliani, a spouse of the United National Movement chairperson, Tina Bokuchava, was questioned in the presence of a magistrate judge at Tbilisi City Court regarding allegations voiced by his wife that he was kidnapped and forced to apologize to Uta Ivanishvili, son of the Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili.

“This was a classic kidnapping, with all its constituent elements. It happened near my house, against a backdrop of violence. There were several people – like you’ve seen in movies, approximately that kind of situation. At first, I thought this was a continuation of that series when people meet others at their homes and commit violence but after being forced into a car and having something like a mask put over my eyes, I realized what was happening,” Ioseliani stated.

He described being transported from his home to what he believes was the Saburtalo district.

“Then there was that demand, which I fulfilled on my part because I don’t think I made any principled or moral compromise. I have already apologized regarding this issue. Considering the context of the situation and the issues at hand, I didn’t view offering an apology again as a big deal. This was about my children, their movement, their walking schedule in Vake Park, and so on.”

Ioseliani emphasized that this was not simply about injustice and violence against one specific citizen, but “an act with political implications that will have corresponding political consequences.”

“I have no idea who planned this, why they planned it, what all this was meant to serve, especially under conditions when I had already made a sincere apology. I would like to address Uta Ivanishvili: If you wish to discuss this matter or anything related to it, please feel free to call me. I will speak with you personally. It’s simply foolish to talk about this,” he said.

Ioseliani described the incident as “a well-planned special operation led by those special services that have the authority to listen to recordings, carry out persecution, surveillance, and also assist groups with whom I had communication, so they could act freely and fulfil the assignments they carried out.”

Regarding why he did not contact the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ioseliani stated he has “zero trust” in the ministry.

“I have had certain contact with law enforcement structures, which I was proud of and am proud of, but currently the MIA is not a body that serves the security of Georgia’s citizens. I had no motivation to come here either because I know exactly that this process too will be a mere formality that the law obliges them to perform. I do not expect that the MIA will conduct a real investigation regarding citizens, especially regarding such a political issue,” Ioseliani noted.

On June 8, Kote Ioseliani published a video on social media in which he apologized to Uta Ivanishvili, son of Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili. Later, UNM chairperson Tina Bokuchava announced that her husband Kote Ioseliani had been kidnapped, pressured, and subsequently forced to record a video apologizing to Uta Ivanishvili.

The investigation is ongoing under Article 143, Part 3 of the Criminal Code, which pertains to the unlawful deprivation of liberty committed by a group acting in prior conspiracy.