Lawyer claims suspect in bank attack “forced” to evade him

Lawyer Aleksandre Kobaidze on Wednesday said Badri Esebua, a suspect in a high-profile bank attack case in 2020, had been “forced” to evade him. 

Kobaidze claimed Esebua had “asked him pardon” for the move and told him “he was forced” to raise such a demand. 

Esebua, who was wanted since October 2020 for robbery of a Bank of Georgia branch in the country’s western Samegrelo region – when he took hostages and escaped with half a million dollars – was arrested early last month. 

He has been charged with coercion, illegal purchase, possession and carrying of firearms and ammunition, organization of a terrorist act and hostage-taking, facing up to 15 years in prison if  found guilty.