Georgia’s Chief Prosecutor Irakli Shotadze said at his special press briefing on February 13 that the Prosecutors Office arrested Archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze on February 10 on charges of planning “a murder of a high-ranking cleric.”

Shotadze stated that the investigation was launched on February 2 based on the information provided by “one of the citizens,” who informed the Prosecutor’s Office that Archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze had asked for his help in obtaining cyanide, a hazardous chemical substance, which Mamaladze intended to use for murdering the high-ranking cleric. The latter’s name, however, was not identified by Shotadze.

The Chief Prosecutor added that Giorgi Mamaladze asked the whistleblower to obtain cyanide “as soon as possible” and promised monetary payment and “unlawful benefits” in exchange. “As it turned out, Mamaladze planned to leave for Germany, where the Patriarch is undergoing medical treatment and he needed the poisonous substance before departure,” Shotadze stated.

Prosecution claims that the crime against the high ranking cleric was planned, but he did not specify whether it was the Patriarch. Mamaladze was arrested by the prosecutors at the Tbilisi International Airport as he tried to leave for Germany. The chemical material was found in his luggage, Shotadze explained.

The Chief Prosecutor added that police officers also retrieved an unregistered handmade firearm in Mamaladze’s apartment.

Archpriest Mamaladze, who served as the Director General at the Georgian Patriarchate’s St. Joachim and St. Ann Medical Center has used the right to remain silent for three days, but he does not plead guilty.