Suspect of arson of the presidential library was detained by police. This was reported on April 19 by the press service of the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
However, the arsonist did not try to hide. Moreover, he filmed how he set fire to the building during Facebook live.
In video Georgian citizen Bacho Katamadze confesses that he set fire to the library of the former president. The 29-year-old man later published footage on the social network.
“I want to dismantle this nest. This is your Michelini’s library. Fire burns. Everything will be destroyed. I will burn everything. Misha’s library burned out,” says Bacho Katamadze on the video.
“One of the very passionate and famous supporters of the Georgian pro-Russian oligarch Ivanishvili admitted on Facebook that he set fire to my presidential library, which serves many thousands of Georgian citizens for free. The library was built with donations from Georgian and international business after my presidency, as a token of gratitude for the absence of corruption in Georgia during my team’s work, following the example and methodology of presidential libraries in the United States,» Mikheil Saakashvili commented on the arrest of the arson suspect.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the detainee was previously convicted.
A criminal case has been opened in connection with the incident under the article “Damage or destruction of an object during its arson”. If the detainee is found guilty of the crime, he will be sentenced five years in prison.
To recall, the presidential library is also a non-governmental fund.