Press Digest 29.07.2014
Who provides the Prosecutor’s Office with secret materials against the National Movement?
Saakashvili will be jailed too
“Only snap elections can wind down tensions in Georgia”
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Who provides the Prosecutor’s Office with secret materials against the National Movement?
"The Chief Prosecutor’s Office has released a rather long statement which says that a clique of Nationals brewed a corrupt plan to terrorize the participants of the rallies of 2007 and take punitive measures against them in Vano Merabishvili’s office. And as the same statement reads, the secret meeting having been held in Mr. Merabishvili’s office was attended by Zurab Adeishvili, Davit Kezerashvili, Data Akhalaia, Gigi Ugulava and different governors. It is very interesting to note that the Prosecutor’s Office garners detailed information not only regarding this meeting but it can also cite Merabishvili’s words aired at the meeting: “if a man is beaten once in Georgia, he is viewed as a doormat for the rest of his life. So, create groups, beat those who are in our bad books, jail them, plant narcotics on them, make them side with you by using different expedients and be calm… Akhalaia will deal with them outside, our other men will ambush them inside,” declared Mr. Merabishvili. However, we would be extremely glad to find out in what manner the Prosecutor’s office has obtained this information from the behind-the-scene meeting,” reports the Alia gazette.
“As the Alia has been informed from a reliable source, the meeting was also attended by a man regarding whom the Prosecutor’s Office has said nothing in the statement. This man has turned out to be Vano Merabishvili’s secretary and the then curator of all security services of the country, Amiran Meskheli. As the source says, Mr. Meskheli recorded the meeting from the beginning to the end and submitted it to the Chief Prosecutor’s Office. Precisely in this way the body managed to get hold of the detailed information regarding the meeting. In addition, Mr. Meskheli appears to have granted to the Prosecutor’s Office additional information in terms of the rallies of 2007, TV Imedi invasion as well as other illegal acts that led them to bring charges against our ex-president. As the source claims, Mr. Meskheli recorded the high officials’ each and every word released at different meetings and kept the recordings in a safe place. And you will probably concede that the Head of the Security Service that was in charge of the latest technologies kept in the arsenal of the Ministry would not find this task difficult to fulfill,” the article reads.
“Information as per which Amiran Meskheli provided the Prosecutor’s Office with these recordings seems credible due to several reasons: Georgian media outlets have repeatedly released the information saying that Mr. Meskheli, who appears to have been accused of perpetrating a number of crimes, has proven to be extremely eager to cooperate with the law enforcers in order to obtain immunity from punishment. Reports have it that Mr. Meskheli has provided the investigative bodies with detailed information and other kinds of evidence regarding the murder of ranger Davit Tsindaliani and Paata Kardava,” writes the author of the article.
"Amiran Meskheli must really be racking his brains on how to save his skin and it’s quite palpable that he has been involved in cooperation with the law enforcers. Mr. Meskheli was a chief organizer of the special operation “Enveri”. He contrived a corrupt scheme which prompted the law enforcers to charge 18 men with espionage and throw 8 of them to jail. Amiran Meskheli is also believed to blackmail, intimidate, and pillage the Georgian businessmen by Merabishvili’s order or by his own initiation. A number of lawsuits have been filed at the Prosecutor’s Office against this man thus far; despite this, a case against Meskheli has not been instituted. As for our law enforcers they have been as dumb as oysters and refused to utter even a single word regarding this issue. Against this background, the allegation saying that Mr. Meskheli is providing our Chief Prosecutor’s Office with different evidence against the National Movement in order to enjoy impunity seems quite trustworthy,” concludes the author of the article.
Saakashvili will be jailed too
"Having decided to keep away from the Prosecutor’s Office, Mr. Saakashvili has rendered a verdict upon himself – charges against him have already been brought. Now the Court must decide whether or not he is to be sentenced to a pre-trial detention and whether or not they need to extradite him back to Georgia. In light of the fact that the West has found it difficult to credit that Mr. Saakshvili is not a victim of political persecution, this move from the Prosecutor’s Office has raised a number of questions and has stirred curiosity. A statement on instituting legal proceedings against our ex-President was released by Georgia’s Chief Prosecutor’s Office yesterday. According to information released by the body, the case concerns dispersal of a massive protest that occurred on the 7TH of November 2007, criminal invasion into the “Imedi” TV broadcasting company’s headquarters and illegal appropriation of Arkady Patarkatsishvili’s property. Along with the former High Executive, former Minister of Internal Affairs, Vano Merabishvili, former defense Minister Davit Kezerashvili, former Prosecutor Gen Zurab Adeishvili and former Mayor of Tbilisi, Gigi Ugulava have also been charged,” reports the Rezonansi gazette.
“Saakashvili was summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office on Saturday; he had to enter the body on Monday, however, everyone was very well aware of the fact that he would refuse to take this step. First he was summoned to the body by the end of March in relation to 10 different cases and he held back from arriving in Georgia at that time too. A slew of Nationals have linked the Prosecutor’s Office move to summon Saakashvili for questioning the Government’s decision to invite the foreign criminal law specialists that, as per the body, must provide our investigators with different recommendations in relation to politically sensitive issues. If we believe them, the Government plans to unleash massive prosecutions and it needs the foreign quintessential professionals to gloss over its faults before the West that has accused them of subjecting their political rivals to political retribution,” the article says.
“In the words of Saakashvili’s lawyer, Otar Kakhidze, a verdict to charge our ex-President as an offender has been handed down beforehand. As I have declared, “the move of the Prosecutor’s Office to summon Mr. Saakashvili as a witness was no more and no less than an attempt to swindle him. There is not even a shadow of doubt that they have decided to institute legal proceedings against my client in advance,” states Mr. Kakhidze.
“To the question whether or not they can start searching for Saakashvili via Interpol, Mr. Kakhidze had no answer, however, he excludes nothing. According to head of PR technologies Recearch Center, Kakhi Kakhishvili, Mikheil Saakshvili does not enjoy immunity from punishment and the Prosecutor’s Office is entitled to urge Interpol to declare him wanted. However, as per him, they need to take different measures to launch this process. “Everyone knows that Saakashvili lacks immunity from punishment and the regulations that are established by Georgia’s Criminal Code are applicable to him,” states the expert. However, he is dubious regarding the fact that having brought the charges against Saakashvili, the Government will find it easy to persuade the West that he is not a victim of a political retaliation,” reads the article.
“One of the leaders of the National Movement, Giga Bokeria, claims that by prosecuting Saakashvili, they seek to mend relations with Putin. And as it was expected, the entire National Movement is on the same page with Mr. Bokeria,” concludes the author of the article.
“Only snap elections can wind down tensions in Georgia”
“From September, the Labor party plans to take more active steps and stage rallies in Georgia. However, as it has become known, participating in the demonstrations held by Burjanadze’s coalition does not fall within the party’s plans. They intend to fight on their own without assistance from others, however, they might elaborate a common strategy along with the non-parliamentary opposition,” reports the Rezonansi gazette.
The Rezonansi pinned down leader of the Labor party, Shalva Natelashvili, on his future plans and found out that the prime objective of the party will be to amend the election code.
“Reshufflings within the Government is a spectacle staged by Ivanishvili’s Government. How can this move lead us out of the crisis that has already come to a head? How can Surguladze’s resignation address the needs and requirements of our people? The only way out from this dead-end critical situation is to send the acting authorities to hell by getting rid of them once and for all. They have already found themselves in an immensely awkward situation when the people refused to go to the polls and by doing this showed their protest against the present Government,” maintains Mr. Natelashvili.
“I doubt that the Government will let Mr. Alasania and his entourage go. Are you so gullible to really think that Gharibashvili changes these ministers? However, neither is Ivanishvili entitled to make an arbitrary decision to dismiss Alasania and his team. They are obliged to take the people’s opinion into consideration. The public knows perfectly well that these massive reshufflings cannot bring about any positive change unless the election code is amended and snap elections are called for,” contends the respondent.
“We will keep taking active steps as we have always done. However, in autumn we plan to make extremely vigorous efforts and crusade against the billionaire tycoon and his entourage. If I were in Burjanadze’s shoes, I would go into my shell and stay there. This woman has performed so many misdeeds that I find it extremely difficult to remember them now. As for the snap parliamentary elections, calling on our authorities to hold them is really pointless in the present situation,” says the labor party leader.
“It’s better for Ivanishvili if he stopped grappling with his opponents and set to tackling the people’s problems. I do appeal to him to take a risk and engage in political debates with me live on the air. In the debates, I will prove to him that he and only he is to be blamed for broken promises and for dragging the country into a ditch. Mr. Ivanishvili, you’d better drop the pursued policy of fighting against your opponents and do your job. You still have time to start over and improve what you have messed up,” concludes Shalva Natelashvili.
