On June 12, Russian Vasambek Bokov, who planned to assassinate local journalist Giorgi Gabuniya at the behest of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, was detained in Tbilisi during a special operation. The latter is known for loud criticism of Russian President Volodymyr Putin.

The reason they wanted to deal with Gabunia was a scandalous program on Rustavi-2 TV. In particular, during the broadcast, Georgy Gabuniya addressed to Russian President Volodymyr Putin in Russian and cursed him obscenely.

However, Bokov’s killer in Georgia was detained on another occasion.

“The official reason for the arrest is not related to the assassination of Gabuniya on Kadyrov’s orders. The Georgian authorities learned about this from the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine,” said Nika Gvaramiya, director of the opposition TV channel Mtavari Arhi.

According to the information received, the journalist has been monitored for several months. The liquidation of Gabuniya was planning and coordinating in Ukraine, and the management took place from Chechnya, the director of the TV channel added. Guamaria said that at first Georgia regarded the information as a provocation of the “Georgian lobby” in Ukraine. However, the defense of Gabuniya was eventually secured.

Natalia Tolub

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