Former defense minister who fought for Ukraine arrested in Georgia
Photo: former Georgian defense minister Irakli Okruashvili (twitter.com/1TV)
The Tbilisi City Court has placed former Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili in custody. His previous bail of 20,000 lari (over 280,000 hryvnias) was replaced with detention, according to the Georgian service of Radio Liberty.
Okruashvili is accused of failing to comply with the demands of a temporary investigative commission of the Georgian Parliament, which was established to examine the governance of the United National Movement between 2004 and 2012.
According to reports, on March 26, Okruashvili was summoned by the commission to testify about the events of the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. However, he refused to provide testimony.
As a result, he was charged under Article 349 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which carries a penalty of a fine or up to one year in prison.
The Tbilisi City Court initially imposed a bail of 20,000 lari and barred him from leaving the country until the case was resolved. However, Okruashvili refused to pay the bail, and after the payment deadline expired, he was taken into custody.
Following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Okruashvili traveled to Ukraine with other Georgian volunteers and took part in the battles for Irpin and Hostomel.
Who is Okruashvili
Irakli Okruashvili served as Georgia’s defense minister from 2004 to 2006. Before that, he held the positions of interior minister and prosecutor general, and later became the minister of economic development.
In April 2020, Okruashvili was convicted for his involvement in the unrest during a June 2019 protest in Tbilisi.
