GEORGIA: Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili warns that arrests of government officials are decisions "taken on a political level"
Record ID:
643612
GEORGIA: Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili warns that arrests of government officials are decisions "taken on a political level"
- Title: GEORGIA: Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili warns that arrests of government officials are decisions "taken on a political level"
- Date: 21st May 2013
- Summary: TBILISI, GEORGIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GATHERING FOR PEOPLE'S CONGRESS UNDER SLOGAN "JUSTICE SHOULD BE RESTORED" MAN ADDRESSING CONGRESS PARTICIPANTS AUDIENCE LISTENING MAN ADDRESSING PARTICIPANTS (SOUNDBITE) (Georgian) CHAIRPERSON OF "FORMER POLITICAL PRISONERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS" NGO, NANA KAKABADZE, SAYING: "The most important goal of such a strong civil union today, is to remind the present leadership of the country that the real force is its people, who elected them and brought them to power and not any other body outside the country which sometimes puts pressure on them." CONGRESS IN PROGRESS
- Embargoed: 5th June 2013 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Georgia
- Country: Georgia
- Topics: Crime,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVADF6AP8O61F2XESP4D318NK5I9
- Story Text: Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said on Tuesday (May 21) that the recent arrests of members of his administration were similar to the arrest and jailing in Ukraine of ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
"You know that the former Prime Minister was arrested in Ukraine, under much more serious charges than the ones of (Vano) Merabishvili, and you know in what state Ukraine has been since then I think our citizens should think it over as well as our government. And I think nobody has any illusions and is aware that that this decision is taken on the political level. What kind of political consequences might be after the arrest of the former Prime Minister and Secretary General of the main opposition party, the consequences for our country, its international position in the world, its security against foreign aggression and for the entire long term future of Georgia. We all should think about it," Saakashvili said.
Former Georgian prime minister Ivane Merabishvili was arrested on corruption charges on Tuesday in what the opposition said was a witch-hunt against members of the ousted administration of President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Ex-healthcare minister Zurab Chiaberashvili, now a governor of Kakheti region in eastern Georgia, was also arrested after police questioned him and Merabishvili.
Saakashvili supporters at a political congress on Sunday (May 19) said they were concerned that Georgian leaders were ignoring the wishes of their citizens.
"The most important goal of such a strong civil union today, is to remind the present leadership of the country that the real force is its people, who elected them and brought them to power and not any other body outside the country which sometimes puts pressure on them," the chairperson of 'Former Political Prisoners for Human Rights' NGO Nana Kakabadze said.
Dozens of former officials, including a former interior minister, have been arrested since billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili led an opposition coalition to election victory over Saakashvili's long-ruling party last October.
They have been charged with abuse of power, corruption, illegal confinement or illegally obtaining personal information.
Western countries have aired concerns that the new government has used selective justice and political persecution against political opponents in the ex-Soviet republic, a pivot of geopolitical rivalry between the West and Russia.
A court will decide within 48 hours after the arrest whether to let Chiaberashvili and Merabishvili go on bail or remand them in custody. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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