TBILISI, August 2 (RIA Novosti) – The Tbilisi City Court has upheld the claim of the prosecutor’s office in Georgia and ordered pre-trial detention of former President Mikheil Saakashvili in absentia, local media reported early Saturday.
On Tuesday, Saakashvili was charged in absentia with abuse of power in connection with the crackdown on protesters in November, 2007, the raid on the Imedi TV Company and acquisition of property.
Former Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili, former Prosecutor General Zurab Adeishvili, former Defense Minister David Kezerashvili and former Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava are also listed as suspects in the case.
The Georgian Prosecutor General’s Office announced it was launching a criminal case against the former president after he failed to appear for questioning on Monday.
Saakashvili left the country soon after the inauguration of Georgia’s new president in November 2013. Prosecutors already summoned him for questioning as a witness in March 2014, but back then he refused to work with the prosecution.
Lawyers representing Saakashvili, Adeishvili and Kezerashvili insist the charges are purely motivated. Following the court’s ruling Saturday, the defense team said it would appeal the decision to arrest former politicians in absentia.
