Tbilisi Court of Appeal Does not Satisfy Request for Saakashvili's Release or Postponement of Sentence
By Liza Mchedlidze
Friday, March 3, 2023
The Tbilisi Court of Appeal did not satisfy the request to release Mikheil Saakashvili or postpone the sentence. Based on this, the decision of the Tbilisi City Court remains unchanged.
Lawyer Shalva Khachapuridze said that the court discussed the petition of the lawyers in absentia, so the lawyers will not attend the process.
According to the Tbilisi Court of Appeal, there was "no legal basis" for granting the petition of the lawyers:
"As a result of the study of the materials/information presented in the case, it was considered that there was no legal basis for satisfying the above-mentioned complaint. Accordingly, the judgment of the Tbilisi City Court of February 6, 2023, remained unchanged by the decision of the Court of Appeal," the statement reads.
Shalva Khachapuridze told reporters that denying Mikheil Saakashvili of release or postponement of the sentence once again proves that former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili's case is political and judges are under 'pressure'.
According to him, they will announce their position on appealing to the European Court later.
On February 6, Tbilisi City Court judge Giorgi Arevadze did not satisfy Mikheil Saakashvili's request for a postponement or release of his sentence.
