Saakashvili refuses to be questioned via video conference

Saakashvili made his statement about questioning in Kiev.
Agenda.ge, 28 Mar 2014 - 01:32, Tbilisi,Georgia

The ex-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili is refusing to be questioned via video-conference after he failed to appear for a court summons.

Saakashvili was summoned to appear at the Chief Prosecutor’s Office yesterday to be questioned on several high-profile cases but he did not show up. The Office then gave him the possibility of testifying via video conference from abroad, which he denied, Rustavi 2 television reported.

The ex-President made his statement about the Chief Prosecutor's Office's offer in Kiev after meeting with the former PM of Ukrine Julia Timoshenko.

"It seems [the Georgian Government] has become afraid of international pressure and now they changed forms of investigating since the Europeans and Americans explained it to them well,” Saakshvili explained.

He told Timoshenko this was a good example how 'these kind of campaigns' usually end: "iIt ends badly,” he suggested.

The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia proposed ex-President Mikheil Saakasvili can answer investigator’s questions via video conference so he does not have to return to Georgia.

Saakashvili was given a week to decide his next steps. The proposal was send to the ex-President according to existing standards.

"The Chief Prosecutor’s Office hopes the former President will respect his status and act as a law-abiding citizen and will assist in resolving of crimes through his testimony. That will help to punish the criminals, whoever they might be,” underlined the Prosecutor’s spokesperson at a last night’s media briefing.

The special press conference announced details on the possible idea of questioning Saakashvili online.