02 December 2011, 20:00
President of Georgia pardons Israeli businessmen convicted for bribery
Today, the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has decided to pardon the Israeli businessmen Roni Fuchs and Zeev Fraenkel, convicted for bribing a state official, said Manana Mandjgaladze, the spokesperson of the President.
"In answer to the appeal of the Government and President of Israel, as well as for humanitarian reasons, taking into account the age and health of the Israeli businessmen, has decided to pardon them," the "News-Georgia" quotes Ms Mandjgaladze as saying.
Roni Fuchs and Zeev Frenkel were detained in October last year in Batumi on charges of an attempt to bribe the Deputy Ministry of Finance of Georgia in the amount of seven million US dollars. In late March this year, the Tbilisi City Court found Messrs Fuchs and Frenkel guilty and sentenced them to 7.5 years of imprisonment each. On July 28, the Tbilisi Court of Appeal upheld the verdict of the first instance.
The businessmen refused to plead guilty; while their defence found the sentence too severe. In April, family members of the convicts appealed to President Mikhail Saakashvili to pardon them because of their age and poor health condition.
