Ukrainian judge overseeing extradition of Georgian former official Kardava found dead
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Ukrainian judge Vitaliy Pisanets, who gave the green light for the extradition of former Georgian military official under the United National Movement (UNM) Megis Kardava last week, was found dead in his house, outside Kyiv, on Saturday.
The next trial in Kardava's extradition case was scheduled for later today.
Kardava, who is charged with abuse of authority, torture, sexual abuse and illegal imprisonment, stated last week that his extradition from Ukraine is related to the October 2 municipal elections.
The ruling Georgian Dream party aims to boost its rating through my extradition,” Kardava said.
The Ukrainian police are investigating the death as a case of premeditated murder.
Pisanets was also overseeing the case of the 2016 murder in Kyiv of journalist Pavel Sheremet, who was killed by an explosive device fixed to the bottom of his car.
Ukrainian media outlets report that Pisanets hosted guests shortly before his death.
The extradition of the former head of the Georgian military police Kardava from Ukraine was delayed back in 2018 as the latter asked Ukraine for political asylum.
The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office stated then that Ukrainian law prohibited extradition from its territory before the completion of asylum-related procedures.
Kardava was wanted by Interpol. He has been wanted by Georgian law enforcers since 2013 for 11 criminal cases.
He was detained in Ukraine in November 2017, when he tried to illegally enter the country from Romania.
Ukraine’s Security Service has announced procedures have been launched to extradite Georgia’s former head of the military police Megis Kardava to Georgia.
Former Georgian Defense Ministry senior official Megis Kardava, who has been accused of torture and prisoner abuse by Georgia's judiciary, has been detained in Ukraine.
Three former Government Interior Ministry senior officials face new torture charges. Former Interior Ministry senior official Megis Kardava and ex-deputy Chief of Department of Corrections Gaga Mkurnalidze are accused of torturing prisoners in order to gain a confession on a terrorist act.
Today in Tbilisi City Court, Kardava was sentenced to nine years imprisonment for torturing Davit Londaridze in 2011 and forcing him to confess to espionage. Once he is released, Kardava will not be allowed to fill a post for two years.
Former head of Georgia’s military police under the United National Movement (UNM) government Megis Kardava has been extradited from Ukraine to Georgia earlier today. Kardava is charged with abuse of authority, torture, sexual abuse and illegal imprisonment and has been wanted by Georgian law enforcers since 2013 for 11 criminal cases.
A total of 11 criminal charges are filed against the former head of Georgia’s military police under the United National Movement (UNM) government Megis Kardava who was extradited from Ukraine to Georgia earlier today after 10 years of being on the run. Megis Kardava has been convicted in five criminal cases while six other criminal cases are still being heard in Tbilisi City Court.