The trial of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has begun in Tbilisi. The fugitive head of state and a number of his closest accomplices are accused of exceeding official authority during the dispersal of a peaceful opposition rally on November 7, 2007.
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About it Radio Liberty reports.
Saakashvili, who fled to Ukraine, refused an offer to take part in the trial via Skype.
If he is found guilty, the court may sentence the ex-president of Georgia in absentia to eight years in prison.
In addition to Saakashvili, ex-Minister of Internal Affairs Vano Merabishvili, former Minister of Defense David Kezerashvili, ex-Minister of Justice Zurab Adeishvili and former Mayor of Tbilisi Gigi Ugulava are also involved in the case of dispersing the rally.
Let us remember that the “November 7 Case” was the first accusation against ex-President M. Saakashvili. The second episode of the same case, according to the Georgian prosecutor’s office, was the “seizure of the Imedi TV channel.”
Three more criminal cases were opened against Saakashvili. He is accused of organizing the beating of deputy and businessman Valery Gelashvili, as well as embezzlement of budget funds and creating privileged conditions for the defendants in a high-profile criminal case about the kidnapping and murder of Tbilisi banker Sandro Girgvliani who were in prison.
The ex-president of Georgia fled to Ukraine along with a significant part of his entourage and now heads the so-called reform council under Poroshenko. At the same time, Ukraine categorically refuses to extradite Saakashvili to Georgia.