Freed kidnap victim was ‘held in hole, tethered by the neck’

Date: 07/11/02

By David Cronin

KIDNAP victim Peter Shaw, the Welshman working on a European Commission contract, was freed last night (6 November) after an armed raid by Georgian forces. The 57-year-old banker was seized in Tblisi on 19 June. He was being held in the Pankisi Gorge region, which borders Chechnya.

Shaw told reporters last night, how he was held in a hole for five months, tethered by the neck.

External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten said he was 'absolutely delighted' that Shaw was free and hoped he would soon be reunited with his family.

Shaw, director of a Georgian bank, was hired as a consultant for Tacis, the EU programme for the former Soviet Union.

The identity of his kidnappers was not known last night; it was reported that one man was injured during the operation.

Report of the release on 6 November 2002 of Peter Shaw, the UK businessman kidnapped in Georgia in June 2002.