This week Okruashvili's lawyers secured political asylum for him in France where he is hiding from Georgian justice. His lawyer in France is none other than Thierry Levi known for winning many high-profile cases.
On June 4, the Paris court will consider the request by the Georgian Prosecutor General's Office to extradite Okruashvili, but the defense believes that the outcome of the hearings will be considerably influenced by the ruling of the Refugee Service which granted him the status of a political refugee.
During the last four years Irakly Okruashvili has traversed the path from Mikhail Saakashvili's most loyal supporter and the youngest minister in the Georgian government to a fierce opponent and archenemy of the regime.
On December 16, 2004, President Saakashvili, introducing Okruashvili as the new defense minister to his staff, described him as "one of the best representatives of the country's new government." "I give you my word of honor that Irakly Okruashvili will remain the defense minister until the territorial integrity of Georgia is restored," Saakashvili said.
A little over four years later, on March 28, 2008, the city court of Tbilisi sentenced former Defense Minister Okruashvili, in absentia, to 11 years in prison "for bribe-taking on a very large scale by an organized group and extortion."
The period between these two dates saw Okruashvili sacked as defense minister, an attempt to appoint him economics minister, followed by a brief lull before the president's former right-hand man made a series of scandalous statements in the fall of last year. It is hard to mention any sphere not touched upon by Okruashvili as he exposed the head of state. Accusations ranged from corrupt deals to attempts to assassinate the billionaire Patarkatsishvili, the split of the Georgian Church and dark hints about the mysterious circumstances of the death of Prime Minister Zhvania.
Two days after his famous appearance on the Imedi TV channel, the former minister was arrested on charges of corruption. That was the catalyst that united the opposition whose actions climaxed in November last year and led to the introduction of a state of emergency in Georgia.
During the investigation Okruashvili dropped all his charges against the authorities and was released on bail for an unprecedented sum of 10 million lari before going to Germany "for treatment" with the permission of the Prosecutor General's Office. Once in Germany he became vocal again and continued to accuse the Georgian leader of all the deadly sins until he was detained at the request of the Georgian Prosecutor's Office and handed over to France which had issued him a Shengen visa. He is now waiting there for the final decision.
Both the Georgian and French authorities decline to comment on the decision to grant political asylum to Okruashvili. The Tbilisi authorities say they have not received any official notification. The Georgian Embassy in Paris says the same. The French Foreign Ministry for its part claims the Service for Refugees Affairs (OFPRA) is an independent agency and makes independent decisions on requests for asylum. OFPRA has also said it never comments and never confirms its decisions regarding persons granted asylum in France and that all the information on these matters could only be obtained from the person concerned.
Okruashvili believes that Mikhail Saakashvili and the Georgian authorities made three main mistakes in the handling of his case.
"First, they allowed me to appear on television with my charges. Second, they let me out of the country. And third, they took my word that I would not be involved in politics any more," Okruashvili said last fall several days after he was released on bail and left Georgia.
Journalists know that Saakashvili is allergic to questions about his former supporter. The people close to the president say that Saakashvili refused to believe that Okruashvili would challenge him until the last minute.
In a rare statement on the ex-minister's betrayal, Saakashvili said it was a lesson for him. "As a person I'm deeply hurt by what Okruashvili has done. He has accused me and the people close to me of something that I am fighting so hard against, clan corruption," Saakashvili said. The Parliament's speaker, Nino Burdzhanadze, describes Okruashvili as "the government's biggest mistake." "It is a disgrace that for years Okruashvili was perceived as one of the leaders. He dared to do the unimaginable. It is a big lesson for us," Burdzhanadze said.
The Georgian opposition interprets the French decision regarding Okruashvili as proof that the Georgian authorities persecute their political opponents. Political asylum is granted to people who suffer political persecution, so France's decision signals the recognition that such things happen in Georgia, the United Opposition claims.
"The French decision attests that there is no independent judiciary in Georgia and that political terror holds sway in the country," according to Kakha Kukava, one of the coalition's leaders. He suggests that the actions of the French authorities indicate the "beginning of Saakashvili's international isolation."
The leader of the New Right, David Gamkrelidze, says that Okruashvili has been given political asylum in "one of the most democratic states and key members of the European Union." "That is added proof that Okruashvili is a political refugee and that Saakashvili's regime and his institutions are not democratic," said Gamkrelidze, recalling that it was France that voted against putting Georgia on the NATO Membership Action Plan at the NATO summit in Bucharest.
"The Georgian authorities sought to remove Okruashvili from the political scene and prevent him from taking part in the parliamentary elections," says Eka Beselia, the ex-minister's lawyer and secretary-general of his Movement for a United Georgia opposition party.
Okruashvili denies that his actions are prompted by his grudge against the president who had sacked him and says that he has only the country's interests at heart. He is not the only ex-minister who joined the opposition after losing his position. Salome Zurabishvili, the former Georgian foreign minister whom Saakashvili had "poached" from the French foreign ministry, and Georgy Haindrava, the former minister for conflict resolution, are among the leaders of the United Opposition.
The transformation of supporters into opponents of the regime happens in Georgia with a frequency that suggests regularity.
There are many blank spots in Okruashvili's case. Is he a victim of his own "political conscience" and persecution by the authorities, or just a vengeful corrupt official? Or perhaps both. There is no answer to these questions, just as there is no answer as to how much truth there is in Okruashvili's charges which have never been substantiated.
One thing is clear: Okruashvili has the reputation of a man who "knows too much." His status of political refugee gives him a chance to continue speaking. On the eve of the parliamentary elections in Georgia on May 21 fresh statements by Okruashvili could add fuel to Georgia's already troubled political scene.
Yelena Imedashvili is Novosti Gruzia's correspondent.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
