The Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling of the lower level City Court and remanded Irakli Okruashvili, the ex-defense minister and leader of the opposition Movement for United Georgia, to two-months’ pretrial custody on October 1. The ruling was again made in Okruashvili”s absence.
Okruashvili”s supporters claimed, however, that the ruling had been pre-determined.
“The judge ignored all the demands of Okruashvili”s attorneys and made a decision as instructed,” Okruashvili”s lawyer, Eka Beselia, told reporters.
Beselia also said that she planned to appeal the judgment at the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights.
Irakli Okruashvili, who was arrested on September 27, is charged with large-scale bribery through extortion, money laundering, misuse of power and negligence while serving as Defense Minister. Okruashvili, however, considers himself to be a political prisoner.
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