Justice Minister says “all procedures” complete for termination of citizenship for US-sanctioned ex-official

Rati Bregadze, the Georgian Justice Minister, on Tuesday said his body had implemented “all procedures” for termination of Georgian citizenship for Otar Partskhaladze, the former Prosecutor General of Georgia, who was in September sanctioned by the United States for his alleged links with Russian intelligence. 

The Public Service Development Agency of the Ministry on September 20 confirmed claims by the US State Department that the former official, who held the post between November-December 2013 under the Georgian Dream Government, had obtained Russian citizenship.

It added the move had been made without Partskhaladze making an official request to retain his Georgian nationality, which meant the latter would be revoked. Using the agency’s conclusion, the President of Georgia on October 17 terminated Partskhaladze’s citizenship. 

Grigol Liluashvili, the head of the Georgian State Security Service, said earlier this month Tbilisi had not received “any evidence” from the US State Department which could prove the guilt of Partskhaladze in ties with Russian agencies, and added the latter had left the country shortly after his summoning to the body for an interview last month. 

Liluashvili also said Partskhaladze had admitted to obtaining Russian citizenship during the interview.

The SSS launched its investigation into Partskhaladze’s case on September 15, after the State Department on September 14 said it had sanctioned the former official for “influencing Georgian society and politics for the benefit of Russia”. 

The US state body said Aleksandr Onishchenko, an officer of Russia’s security agency FSB who has also been sanctioned along with the Georgian former official, had “likely assisted his associate Partskhaladze in obtaining a Russian passport and possibly Russian citizenship”, and added the former Georgian Prosecutor General had “fully taken on a Russian identity and routinely travels to Russia".