More delays in Okruashvili’s trial as lawyer alleges political persecution
By Anna Kamushadze
Tuesday, November 27
The trial of Irakli Okruashvili, a fugitive ex-minister and would-be opposition leader, was delayed yet again on November 26 after Okruashvili’s lawyer refused to continue with the proceedings.
Okruashvili is being tried in abstentia for allegedly extorting shares of communications company Geocell at below market rate from a former MP.
“This was a staged play,” Gia Tortlazde, a political ally, claimed.
The process was mangled entirely, he alleged, citing leading questions from the prosecutor interrogating a witness.
Okruashvili’s lawyer, Eka Beselia, said the court ignored her argument that the prosecution’s case is invalid because the date of the alleged extortion deal falls came after Okruashvili resigned his post in November 2006. He therefore could not be guilty of abusing his office, she said.
When court went ahead with its proceedings, Beselia walked out of the hearing thereby bringing the trial to a halt.
There was no statement immediately available from the prosecution.
This is the second time Okruashvili’s trial has been called off; the initial court date of November 22 was postponed when Beselia refused to show up.
Protesting outside the court were around a dozen youth members of the opposition party Okruashvili founded, the Movement for a United Georgia. They accused the court of bias and adhering to a political agenda.
Beselia has said the same, according to Rustavi 2, claiming the there is no point in even mounting a defense at the hearings.
Authorities arrested Okruashvili on September 27, two days after unveiling his political party and releasing a barrage of lurid allegations against the government.
He was released October 9 on bail, shortly after confessing in a televised interrogation to some of the charges against him and recanting his accusations.
Right before a planned mass anti-government rally on November 2, authorities say Okruashvili was allowed to leave the country for Germany to seek medical treatment. On November 5, Okruashvili gave a live interview from Munich to Imedi TV, now shut down by the government, in which he said his confession was given under pressure and vowed to bring down the administration of Mikheil Saakashvili.
Okruashvili is facing charges of extortion, money laundering, abuse of power and criminal negligence. The Prosecutor General’s Office says he is now a wanted fugitive after failing to return to the country for his trial.
Okruashvili is being tried in abstentia for allegedly extorting shares of communications company Geocell at below market rate from a former MP.
“This was a staged play,” Gia Tortlazde, a political ally, claimed.
The process was mangled entirely, he alleged, citing leading questions from the prosecutor interrogating a witness.
Okruashvili’s lawyer, Eka Beselia, said the court ignored her argument that the prosecution’s case is invalid because the date of the alleged extortion deal falls came after Okruashvili resigned his post in November 2006. He therefore could not be guilty of abusing his office, she said.
When court went ahead with its proceedings, Beselia walked out of the hearing thereby bringing the trial to a halt.
There was no statement immediately available from the prosecution.
This is the second time Okruashvili’s trial has been called off; the initial court date of November 22 was postponed when Beselia refused to show up.
Protesting outside the court were around a dozen youth members of the opposition party Okruashvili founded, the Movement for a United Georgia. They accused the court of bias and adhering to a political agenda.
Beselia has said the same, according to Rustavi 2, claiming the there is no point in even mounting a defense at the hearings.
Authorities arrested Okruashvili on September 27, two days after unveiling his political party and releasing a barrage of lurid allegations against the government.
He was released October 9 on bail, shortly after confessing in a televised interrogation to some of the charges against him and recanting his accusations.
Right before a planned mass anti-government rally on November 2, authorities say Okruashvili was allowed to leave the country for Germany to seek medical treatment. On November 5, Okruashvili gave a live interview from Munich to Imedi TV, now shut down by the government, in which he said his confession was given under pressure and vowed to bring down the administration of Mikheil Saakashvili.
Okruashvili is facing charges of extortion, money laundering, abuse of power and criminal negligence. The Prosecutor General’s Office says he is now a wanted fugitive after failing to return to the country for his trial.