Trial in Tbilisi begins trial over Saakashvili | News from Germany about Europe

The Tbilisi City Court requires the presence of the former President of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili, when considering the case and conducting the process in the courtroom. This was announced on Tuesday, November 9, by his lawyer Beka Basilai.

A hearing is scheduled for November 10 in the case of the dispersal of the opposition rally in November 2007 and the pogrom of the security forces in the Imedi TV company. The investigation into the case has been going on for eight years. In Georgia, Saakashvili is involved in several criminal cases.

“Representatives of the city court session contacted me and said that at tomorrow’s trial they would make a request for the transfer of Mikhail Saakashvili to the courtroom. Accordingly, the court recorded that the trial should take place in the Tbilisi City Court, and that they demand the transfer of Mikhail Saakashvili to the courtroom. court, “Basilai told reporters.

He noted that the Ministry of Justice and the Special Penitentiary Service are obliged to comply with the court’s request. The lawyer believes that if “the trial of Mikheil Saakashvili does not take place in the courtroom, this will be another indicator that the authorities are afraid.”

The opposition plans a protest at the city court

Since Monday, Saakashvili has been in a prison hospital in the Tbilisi region of Gldani, where he was transferred from a prison in the city of Rustavi “in order to prevent deteriorating health and increase threats.”

The former Georgian president returned from Ukraine ahead of the October 2 local elections to mobilize his supporters. He was detained and arrested, after which he went on a hunger strike. Several protests took place in Tbilisi and other cities in the following weeks.

Opposition supporters at a rally in front of the parliament building on Tuesday said they intend to go to the Tbilisi City Court if the trial takes place there. “There should be many of us in the courtyard, but we should be very peaceful,” urged Nikanor Melia, chairman of the United National Movement opposition party.

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Author: Anastasia Arinushkina