Georgia, Tbilisi, May 27 / Trend, N. Kirtskhalia /
The decision on the pretrial detention of the former prime minister of Georgia, Secretary General of 'United National Movement' Vano Merabishvili may be appealed against at the Strasbourg court, Merabishvili's barrister Giorgi Chiviashvili declared on Monday.
The barrister visited Merabishvili in prison on May 27. According to him, he has not yet received Merabishvili's final decision on this subject.
"The Court of Appeal, like the city court, adopted the unjustified decision. Mechanisms to appeal the decision in Georgia have been exhausted. We have a six-month term for Strasbourg," Chiviashvili said.
According to him, Merabishvili considers his arrest to be 'political reprisal'.
Merabishvili and Tchiaberashvili were detained on May 21. The members of the former government and close associates of the President of Georgia are accused of corruption, abuse of power and embezzlement of public funds. The investigation is being conducted under Article 164 (bribery of voters), Article 182, part 3 (embezzlement or misappropriation of funds by using the official position which entailed serious damage) and Article 332 (abuse of power) of the Criminal Code of Georgia.
The Kutaisi City Court chose pre-trial detention as a preventive measure for the secretary-general of the United National Movement Vano Merabishvili, and bail of 20,000 lari for Zurab Tchiaberashvili. He was required to pay the sum during a 30-day period.