Brussels, 20/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, the European Commission reported that a British banker, Peter Shaw, in charge of the Tacis Project, had been kidnapped in Georgia, and demanded his immediate release. Mr Shaw, director of the Georgian merchant bank, Agrobusinessbank, was just about to leave the country after working for six years as Head of the Tacis project in Georgia and was kidnapped on Tuesday by seven armed individuals in the Georgian capital.
Chris Patten declared that they were counting on the Georgian authorities to pursue Mr Shaw's kidnappers with absolute determination and swiftness and ensure that he was released unharmed. The Commissioner pointed out that this wasn't the first example of this kind of incident, which is another blow to the country. The Commission considers that the kidnapping will draw attention to the growing insecurity in Georgia and indicated that in December of last year, a member of the European delegation, Günther Beuchel, had been assassinated. The Commission and the British authorities are in contact with the Georgian authorities efforts in trying to find Mr Shaw.