Okruashvili now a fugitive
By Ana Datiashvili
Thursday, November 15
The ruling effectively makes Irakli Okruashvili a fugitive
“[On November 13], the court informed Okruashvili about the hearing [on November 14]. He can’t get from Germany to Georgia in ten hours,” said Gia Tortladze, of Okruashvili’s oppositional Movement for a United Georgia. “This is a criminal government and a criminal court—first they set him out on bail, then they sent him abroad for medical treatment, and all of the sudden they want him to appear in court.”
Tortladze suggested that Okruashvili would seek political asylum from the German government, and remain in exile until the Georgian government changes.
According to prosecutors, Okruashvili was given more than enough notice of his summons. They’ve tried unsuccessfully for several days to contact him via phone, they said.
Most Okruashvili’s GEL 10 million bail is now forfeit. Prosecutors say GEL 3.5 million will be returned to Tengiz Nizharadze, a Georgian businessman who says he will no longer vouch for Okruashvili’s behavior.
The remaining money, the Prosecutor General’s Office says, came mainly from the International Building Company—reportedly owned by close Okruashvili associate Kibar Khalvashi.
Authorities arrested Okruashvili on September 29, two days after the ex-minister reemerged into the Georgian political scene with dramatic allegations of government corruption and murder plots.
Charged with extortion, money laundering and criminal negligence, Okruashvili was released on bail on October 9 after recanting his accusations and confessing to some of the charges against him in a televised interrogation.
A day before tens of thousands gathered for an anti-government rally on November 2, Okruashvili’s supporters say, he was spirited away to Germany by government agents.
He later gave an interview from Munich to Imedi TV, repeating many of his earlier accusations and saying he confessed under pressure.