On February 23 the Tbilisi District Court ruled to release Merab Beridze, ex-Rector of Tbilisi State University?s branch in the southern Georgian town of Akhaltsikhe, after a group of parliamentarians appealed the Court with the request to release Beridze into their custody.
The charges have not been dropped from Beridze and investigation is in process. The prosecutor?s office claims that Beridze illegally opened a military department at the university and misappropriated funds, which were provided by the students themselves to set up this military department at the university.
But the influential human rights advocacy NGO Georgian Young Lawyers? Association (GYLA), which decided to provide legal assistance to the ex-Rector, claims there is no evidence to supports these accusations.
After the release of Beridze, students of the university in Akhaltsikhe ceased their protest rally, which was launched shortly after Beridze was arrested on February 16. Later he was sentenced to three months pre-trial detention, which sparked more protests.