French court leaves ex-defence minister in custody

Georgia’s ex-Defence Minister remains in prison in France.

French authorities decided to keep David Kezerashvili in custody during a hearing in a French court of law.

The court held its first session to discuss Kezerashvili’s extradition to Georgia yesterday.

The decision will be reevaluated next week.

The defence team demanded Kezerashvili’s release from prison until the issue of his extradition is discussed. His French lawyers proposed Kezerashvili to be placed under house arrest and be electronically monitored but the judge rejected the offer.

A court spokesperson said the judges would study the technicalities of this proposal next week.

Kezerashvili’s lawyers hope he will be released on bail following his appearance next week.

"The Court believes that it is possible to trust our client, so the judges will discuss the issue of his release next week. They will study technical procedures for house arrest and electronic monitoring, which is a very good sign for us,” attorney Luk Freraro said.

Kezerashvili’s second attorney Orelian Hamel believed Kezerashvili’s extradition was politically motivated.

"We are concerned about the delay of today’s hearing, which was caused by demands of Georgia’s Prosecutors Office to be directly involved in the case. The Georgian Government acts according to the law given by international convention but they are manipulating it and ‘dragging out’ the process. There is much evidence that the extradition is politically motivated. Arm trade speculation is another proof of this,” he said.

Georgian Prosecutors’ Office representative Irakli Dondoladze said the Prosecution’s extradition and imprisonment demands were fair.

Meanwhile,Kezerashvili is wanted in Georgia on multiple criminal charges including corruption. He is accused of bribe-taking, violations of Georgias rules for transportation of especially large amount of movable items, and illegal money laundering committed by a group that was accompanied by acquiring a large amount of income. David Kezerashvili also faces charges of alienating TV Imedi in 2008.

He has also been accused of protecting a scheme that illegally smuggled alcohol and arm trade.