Shevarnadze received no guarantees on his family's immunity

The son of the Georgian ex-president denied a number of mass media reports stating that Eduard Shevarnadze received guarantees on his family immunity upon his retirement. He also stated that the Shevarnadze family was a victim to political persecution on behalf of the current authorities.

"It is all done by the authorities, which came to power on a level of democracy respect principles," Paata Shevarnadze said in his interview with Imedi Radio.

"Shevarnadze retired in order to avoid bloodshed. What do we have today? The Georgian authorities open fire on peaceful participants of the meeting. It occurred last Saturday, when workers of the Omega-Tegi printing house tried to restore the production and servicemen of the Georgian Interior Forces opened warning fire. If Eduard Shevarnadze could have done one-hundredth part of what the current authorities do, he would have been anathematized," Paata Shevarnadze said.

He also denies the existence of abusive financial practices in the Magti cellular phone company, which is owned by Eduard Shevarnadze's son-in-law Giorgy Dzhokhtabiridze. "There is no evidence of abusive financial practices and embezzlement. Having amended the Constitution, the new Georgian leadership became the owner of the country and is trying to get control over the major business," the ex-president's son noted.

"The discredit of Shevarnadze and the desire to gain control over Magti, which is the second largest taxpayer in Georgia, are prime aims of the new Georgian authorities," Paata Shevarnadze said.

The Prosecutor General's Office accuses Shevarnadze's son-in-law as a major Magti shareholder of the tax evasion estimated at 700,000 lari ($350,000).

"I decided to refuse from work for UNESCO and to return to Georgia after 14 years of work in France. To some degree I made this decision because the new Georgian authorities politically persecute the Shevarnadze family," the son of the Georgian ex-president said.