My Husband Was Abducted and Forced to Record a Video After Threats Against Our Children - Tina Bokuchava

"The public has seen the video published yesterday by my husband, Kote Ioseliani, where he supposedly apologizes for a public comment he made in 2018 concerning Uta Ivanishvili.

Last night, five masked individuals ambushed my husband near our home, where we live with our three young children. These five individuals attacked him, though they were unable to inflict severe physical injuries. As a result of this physical confrontation, my husband was put into a car, and abducted to an unknown location, blindfolded and with his hands tied. We can't determine the exact location. Based on the distance and trajectory, we assume he was abducted and held for many hours in the so-called module building. 

Upon arrival at the location, the abductors exerted pressure on him for 8 hours, naming his daily travel routes, including the location of our eldest, 10-year-old child's school and our 2.5-year-old twins' kindergarten.

Throughout this entire period, he was subjected to threats, and they threatened the safety of our children. I tried to contact my husband all night. They did not allow him access to his phone.

Everyone's personal life should be private, but we all understand well that the statement made about Uta Ivanishvili seven years ago, for which Kote publicly apologized just three days after the fact, is not the real reason for Kote's violent abduction yesterday. This is merely a pretext. The real reason is to intimidate and silence me. I want to state very clearly, for Bidzina Ivanishvili, every member of his family, Kote's abductors, and those who ordered the abduction, including Gela Geladze, who, as I am told, was a loyal servant of Vano Merabishvili – for all of them to hear: I am not afraid, I will not be silenced, and I will fight for the dismantling of your violent, treacherous regime. The regime thought they couldn't arrest me, and therefore, decided to exert pressure on me through my family.

I want to highlight that fake confrontation with Ivanishvili is another lie and hypocrisy; it's deceiving oneself and the people. Entering this so-called election special operation can only be the result of a deal with Ivanishvili, and I have great hope that people I respect will not enter into such a deal with Ivanishvili," Bokuchava stated.

On June 8, a video circulated on social media in which Kote Ioseliani, a former member of the United National Movement's political council, apologized to Uta Ivanishvili, the son of Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, for a statement made seven years ago concerning his sexual orientation.

"I sincerely apologize to Uta for this, because it was a lie, and I have never heard anything about his orientation. The only thing I know is that he is always well-regarded, he is a normal person, and they speak of his courage. What I said was a lie, and it's never too late to apologize. Certain circumstances arose, based on which I was forced to say all this in that formulation. I truly sincerely regret it, and I want to once again sincerely apologize to Uta Ivanishvili," Ioseliani said.