Ioseb Sigua, who was recently promoted to head a division within the Interior Ministry’s Central Criminal Police Department, has resigned and was ordered to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet amid allegations that he verbally and physically abused his wife. Sigua’s defense denies the allegations, arguing that his wife is driven by financial interest in the property.
Sigua, who previously served as head of the Main Division of Detectives at Tbilisi Police Department, was promoted to head the Organized Crime Combat Division at the Interior Ministry’s Central Criminal Police Department just days after his wife, Sopo Sigua-Shatberava, publicly accused him of abuse.
In an interview aired by the opposition-leaning TV Pirveli channel on July 4, Sigua-Shatberava accused her husband of subjecting her to “cruelty,” alleging that he beat her in ways that would not leave visible marks, threatened her with a gun, and issued death threats, including on throwing her off a balcony
TV Pirveli also cited documents indicating that a restraining order was issued against the police official in February 2026 and that a court hearing was held over the alleged abuse. The channel further reported that, after the wife alerted the Interior Ministry, she came under pressure, which led to a deal to settle the division of marital property in exchange for withdrawing her complaints. According to Sigua-Shatberava, her husband later backed out of the agreement.
On July 9, Everything About Police, a Facebook page that regularly posts personnel updates in the police and is believed to have ties to the Interior Ministry, announced Ioseb Sigua’s promotion as the Central Criminal Police Department division head.
The following day, Baia Pataraia, head of Sapari, a women’s rights organization representing Sigua-Shatberava’s interests, wrote on Facebook about Sigua’s promotion, calling it a “tragedy” that a person under investigation could be elevated to such a high-ranking position. “Does the constant beating of one’s wife not constitute a sufficient crime?” she wrote.
Pataraia further noted that police had delayed responding to Sigua’s wife’s repeated emergency calls the day before and took time to attach an electronic monitoring bracelet to the official.
“Today, it took them [police] eight hours to assess the risks. The risk turned out so high that Sigua requires an electronic [monitoring] bracelet. The police crew left, and over the past two hours, the only thing that is known to us is that they cannot find the abuser – the Interior Ministry cannot find the head of division,” she wrote on July 10. According to Pataraia, the woman called the police four times the previous day, but officers only arrived the following morning after she contacted the Ministry’s General Inspectorate.
Later, in the early hours of July 11, Pataraia posted an update that the bracelet had finally been attached to the official. The decision was upheld by the court later that same day. On July 11, the Interior Ministry confirmed to Civil.ge that Sigua had resigned from his post.
Sigua’s defense lawyer, Teona Gvazava, denied the allegations against the former official, telling reporters that the wife is driven by financial interests. “Her goal is to obtain as much money as possible; her goal is to obtain as much real estate as possible,” Gvazava said, pledging to submit “written, audio, video” evidence as well as other court decisions.
Sigua-Shatberava’s lawyer, on the other hand, dismisses the former official’s defense line as “leaving an impression that an abuse victim cannot have property rights,” citing the alleged victim as arguing that the abuse has been going on for 13 years.
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