Georgia readdresses Ukraine on ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili’s extradition

The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office has re-addressed Ukraine to take extradition measures against Georgia’s ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili.

The Office released a statement today, saying that it readdressed the Ukrainian Chief Prosecutor’s Office and the Ukrainian Justice Ministry on September 1.

"According to the Ukrainian legislation, when a criminal case against a wanted person is in the phase of investigation, the extradition issue is reviewed by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office, while when the criminal case is in the phase of court hearing, the issue is considered by the Justice Ministry”, the statement read.

"Since all the criminal cases involving Mikheil Saakashvili are in the phase of court hearing, the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office addressed both the Ukrainian Chief Prosecutor’s Office and the justice Ministry”, it added.

This will be the fourth time that Georgia requests the detention and extradition of Saakashvili, who served as Georgia’s third president from 2004-2007 and again from 2008-2013.

Having lost his Ukrainian citizenship more than a month ago, Saakashvili does not have any citizenship now and it is yet unknown what type of legal document he uses to travel across Europe.

Four separate criminal cases are filed in Georgia with Saakashvili as a defendant:

• Abuse of power when pardoning people arrested for the case of the Murder of Sandro Girgvliani.
• Violent dispersal of anti-government mass protests on November 7, 2007; unlawful raiding of Imedi television company by riot police; and illegal take-over of property owned by late media tycoon Badri (Arkadi) Patarkatsishvili – all filed as one criminal case.
• Exceeding official powers using violence or a weapon and organizing intentional infliction of grave injury by more than one person in the case of attack on Valeri Gelashvili.
• Appropriation or embezzlement of budget money in large quantities (more than 8.8 million GEL) with a prior agreement by a group in the case of Special State Protection Service expenses.

In 2014 Saakashvili was officially charged in Georgia; however, by the time his case went through court he was already in Ukraine. However, if he returns to Georgia any time in the future, he will face a court of law.