The Ministry of Defense is suing Davit Kezerashvili
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Friday, October 1
The Ministry of Defense of Georgia has filed a lawsuit against former Minister of Defense Davit Kezerashvili and Alexander Ninua, Head of the State Procurement Department during his tenure as Minister of Defense. According to the ministry, they are seeking compensation for “damage caused by a criminal act” against the Ministry of Defense.
The statement said that the case concerns only one case when more than 5 million euros were “seized” from the state. According to the ministry, the criminal case “is not just a case of corruption, because the money was simply transferred to an offshore company, without the purchase and delivery of any goods.”
The statement of the Ministry also reads that such activity showcases the attitude towards the state budget, “which was displayed by the previous government.”
Public Defender of Georgia Nino Lomjaria says that the decision made by the Supreme Court in the case of former Defense Minister Davit Kezerashvili raises some questions. Speaking on Formula TV, Nino Lomjaria said that the ombudsperson office would be interested in this case.
“We were interested in the decision made by the court in the case of Kezerashvili, which was made without the court having a motivational letter. This might mean that they made a hasty decision, or the main thing was that the verdict, the decision had to be made,” said Lomjaria.
According to the representatives of the TV company Formula, Davit Kezerashvili has the only company in Georgia, it is the TV company Formula, and the management of the TV company suggests that this property may be seized, which will create problems for the broadcasting.
Giorgi Targamadze, one of the journalists of Formula, said that filing a lawsuit two days before the election proves that GD is using justice for their interests. Formula Representatives also believe that the case started because of the poll that was prepared by Edison Research and was ordered by Formula TV.
On September 7, Davit Kezerashvili, former Minister of Defense of Georgia and owner of 51% of Formula TV, was sentenced to imprisonment in absentia by the Supreme Court. He was sentenced by the court to 10 years in prison, but the sentence was halved as a result of the amnesty.
The Supreme Court panel of three members of the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Kezerashvili. They are Shalva Tadumadze, Levan Tevzadze, and Merab Gabinashvili. In 2017, the Court of Appeals acquitted Kezerashvili in his case, which was appealed by the Prosecutor's Office to the Supreme Court. Shalva Tadumadze was the Prosecutor General at that time.
Kezerashvili plans to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
