Irakli Okruashvili left in custody in Tbilisi

Today, the court has refused to release on bail Irakli Okruashvili, the leader of the "Victorious Georgia" Party, who was arrested in a case on organization of riots in front of the parliament building.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 25, Irakli Okruashvili and four other persons were detained in the case on mass violence during protests in front of the Georgian parliament. According to the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), on June 20, Irakli Okruashvili called on protesters to break into the parliament building by force and made such attempts by himself.

Mamuka Chabashvili, an advocate of Irakli Okruashvili, filed a motion to release his client on bail of 500,000 laris. However, the Tbilisi City Court pronounced a decision to uphold the arrest.

According to a public prosecutor, it cannot be ruled out that Irakli Okruashvili will escape or put pressure on witnesses. The defence did not agree with the prosecutor's statement. "Only policemen remained among witnesses. It is clear that Irakli Okruashvili cannot put pressure on them," said Mamuka Chabashvili, an advocate of Irakli Okruashvili, on the air of the "Imedi" TV Channel, as translated from Georgian by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In his turn, the public prosecutor said on the air of the "Imedi" TV Channel that the court had been presented with the video evidence of the Irakli Okruashvili's participation in violent acts against policemen, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reported.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 23, 2019 at 03:16 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.