Tbilisi Seeks Saakashvili’s Extradition from Ukraine

Tbilisi has re-submitted the request to Kyiv to detain and extradite Mikheil Saakashvili, former President of Georgia and former Governor of Odessa region in Ukraine, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia said in its statement on September 5.

A copy of the request was sent to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine on September 1. The request was also filed to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, which, according to the statement, is in charge of the extradition applications for cases pending court decisions, such as the ones involving Saakashvili.

The Prosecutor’s Office also explained that criminal charges have been brought against the former president in four cases:

• Under article 332 of the criminal code, involving abuse of power in the high-profile murder case of Sandro Girgvliani in 2006;
• Under article 333 of the criminal code, involving exceeding official authorities in the 2007 anti-government protests case, as well as the raid on Imedi TV station and “seizure” of assets owned at the time by Badri Patarkatsishvili;
• Under article 333 of the criminal code, involving exceeding official authorities with use of violence in organizing attack against then opposition MP Valeri Gelashvili, who was severely beaten up by masked, armed men in Tbilisi in 2005.
• Under article 182 of the criminal code, involving misspending charges, where Saakashvili is accused of using funds allocated from the state budget to the Special State Protection Service (SSPS), the agency in charge of providing security to high-ranking officials, for his and his close allies, friends and family members’ personal purposes.

Saakashvili denies the charges, saying that the prosecutor’s motions are politically-motivated.

Mikheil Saakashvili plans to return to Ukraine via Poland on September 10, where he will reportedly be accompanied by members of the European Parliament, as well as journalists and supporters.

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