Georgian court denies bail to Saakashvili’s former guard, two Ukrainian citizens
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The court in Georgia’s Black Sea town of Batumi has denied bail to one Georgian and two Ukrainian citizens detained for the violation of the state border.
Two Ukrainian citizens Volodymyr Dyachenko and Yuriy Khomych as well as Georgian citizen Mykhailo Baturyn, who previously served as Georgia’s third President Mikheil Saakashvili’s guard, were detained last November.
Prosecution said the three had disobeyed law enforcers while detention and there was a high risk they might have left Georgia.
Their attorney Beka Basilaia however claims that the three individuals have been detained illegally and that they did not violate the Georgian waters.
МЗС України вкотре застерігає українських громадян, які є публічними особами, від закликів до акцій непокори в дружній іноземній державі Грузії.
— Oleg Nikolenko (@OlegNikolenko_) February 10, 2021
Коментар щодо звинувачень Михеїла Саакашвілі ➡️ https://t.co/1qyaM1vPte pic.twitter.com/TmicfUCTkK
In the statement released earlier today Spokesperson of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Oleg Nikolenko said this is ‘one of the recent high-profile cases' in which Ukrainians abroad need the support of their country.
This issue is among the main priorities of the Ukrainian embassy in Tbilisi. The embassy held numerous meetings with Georgian officials and prosecutors to secure their release. The consul of our embassy helped to connect the detained Ukrainians with their relatives”, Nikolenko said.
He further called on the Georgian authorities ‘to consider this case quickly and impartially', change the measure of restraint and release the Ukrainian citizens.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has urged its public servants to refrain from making any statements on Georgia which may spark tension in the country.
Both the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and the opposition are sceptical that the country’s ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, who currently chairs the Executive Committee of the Ukrainian National Reforms Council, will keep his recent promise and return to Georgia for the October 2 municipal elections.