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Sunday, 07 December 2003

TWO GEORGIAN BORDER GUARD OFFICIALS FIRED OVER BEREZOVSKY VISIT

Published in News Digest

By empty (12/7/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The head of the analysis department of Georgia\'s border protection agency, Irakly Papava, and the head of the Tbilisi airport checkpoint, Khvicha Dvalishvili, were dismissed in the wake of Boris Berezovsky\'s visit to Tbilisi on December 3, a Border Department source has reported. The Prosecutor General\'s Office has opened an investigation against Papava and Dvalishvili. Border Department Chairman Valery Chkheidze submitted his resignation to acting president Nino Burjanadze on Friday, but it was not accepted.
The head of the analysis department of Georgia\'s border protection agency, Irakly Papava, and the head of the Tbilisi airport checkpoint, Khvicha Dvalishvili, were dismissed in the wake of Boris Berezovsky\'s visit to Tbilisi on December 3, a Border Department source has reported. The Prosecutor General\'s Office has opened an investigation against Papava and Dvalishvili. Border Department Chairman Valery Chkheidze submitted his resignation to acting president Nino Burjanadze on Friday, but it was not accepted. The Russian Prosecutor General\'s Office had announced that a search is underway to find Berezovsky. Although pertinent documents were sent to Georgia, the Berezovsky\'s name was not included in their computer network. Moreover, Chkheidze was not informed in a timely fashion about Berezovsky\'s arrival in Tbilisi. The Georgian Prosecutor General\'s Office has started a criminal case in the wake of the visit. Prosecutor General Nugzar Gabrichdze said the case involves abuse of office for personal gain. Punishment for such offenses can range from a fine to three years in prison. Berezovsky visited Tbilisi at the invitation of his business partner Badri Patarkatsishvili by using a passport in the name of Platon Elenin. He arrived and departed without any interference and investigators will try to determine if the visit had been arranged beforehand. (Interfax)
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