Key points
- Irakli Okruashvili, the former Minister of Defense of Georgia, was sentenced to 8 months in prison for failing to comply with the demands of the parliamentary investigative commission.
- Okruashvili was also banned from holding public office for two years and became the eighth opposition politician to be convicted for failing to appear at a commission meeting.
- The politician was detained for failure to pay bail in the amount of 20,000 lari, and the decision to detain him was made by Judge Tamar Mchedlishvili.
Irakli Okruashvili sentenced to 8 months in prison / Photo by Okruashvili
Irakli Okruashvili, who fought on the side of Ukraine in 2022, was sentenced to 8 months in prison. He served as Minister of Defense in 2004-2006.
This was reported by Channel 24 with reference to the Radio Liberty project “Echo of the Caucasus”.
Okruashvili sentenced in Georgia
The publication reported that Okruashvili was sentenced to 8 months in prison and was disqualified from holding public office for 2 years. The ruling was made by Judge Tamar Mchedlishvili, who found the opposition politician guilty of failing to comply with the demands of the controversial parliamentary investigative commission.
The politician was charged under Article 349 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which provides for liability for failure to comply with the demands of the investigative commission. He became the eighth opposition politician to receive a prison term for failure to appear at a meeting of the commission, which is headed by Tea Tsulukiani, the journalists explained.
Okruashvili was detained in the courtroom for failure to pay bail in the case of failure to appear at the commission meeting on May 14. According to Natia Tatiashvili, he intentionally did not pay the bail set by the court.
The court chose a preventive measure against the politician in the form of bail in the amount of 20,000 lari and prohibited him from leaving the territory of Georgia until the end of the trial, and the bail payment period was 30 days and expired on May 8.
Okruashvili was summoned on March 26 to give an explanation before the temporary investigative commission of parliament, but he refused to appear.
