Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
Ahead of signing the association agreement with the EU, Premier of Georgia Irakly Garibashvili stated: “Summer will be hot in the country.” He pointed out that it would hot for top officials of the former authorities, as the General Prosecution has questions for them.
The warning by the premier came true immediately after the European association when the Georgian authorities had no reasons for fearing the West’s reaction to the arrests of the leaders of the opposition party “United National Movement.” A few days before the second round of municipal elections, employees of the Investigation Department of the Ministry of Finance arrested the closest supporter of the former president, the former mayor of Tbilisi, the head of the election team of Saakashvili’s UNM party, Gigi Ugulava. The arrest was public – in front of the eyes of a million TV viewers: Ugulava went upstairs in the international airport to fly to a conference of the European Council in Chisinau; employees of the financial police approached him, announced his arrest and clapped handcuffs on him. The former mayor tried to demonstrate calmness, but he acted nervously.
Before he got into the police car which drove him to the detention facility, Ugulava told journalists: “I will continue to unveil Ivanishvili, whatever they do to me.”
Later, a representative of the Ministry of Finance stated that Gigi Ugulava is accused of laundering “black money” through offshore accounts and using them for financing the UNM. It should be noted that it wasn’t a private purpose, but used for financing the party’s activity. However, it is only one of several criminal cases against the former mayor. He is also accused of illegal employment of the UNM’s activists into municipal structures, expropriation of the Imeli TV-company from the successors of late billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili, and illegal distribution of revenues from the Israeli company “City-Parking.”
In total, Ugulava could be sentenced to prison for 35 years. Recently, the ruling coalition initiated a draft on summing up jail terms instead of absorption of less severe punishments by a more severe one – the practice in a majority of countries.
And Gigi Ugulava will hardly be the last leader of the UNM whose arrest has been planned for the summer. In the near future the prosecution will bring a charge and arrest the former secretary of the National Security Council, an ideologist of the Rose Revolution of 2003, Giga Bokeria, for wasting state resources. The former Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili has already been sentenced to prison; the former Defense Minister Bachana Akhalaya will be sentenced this summer; the former head of the Constitutional Security Department of the Interior Ministry, Data Akhalaya, and many other former top officials are wanted by Interpol.
The authorities are fulfilling the main social order of society: investigation into the activity of the former ruling team and “restoration of justice,” i.e. punishment of the guilty, despite the West’s negative reaction.
Clouds are gathering over former president Saakashvili as well: he moved to the USA when the power changed in Georgia. Earlier, Saakasvili was only a witness in numerous criminal cases on wasting state resources and exceeding his powers. The prosecution has already called him in for questioning, but Saakashvili agrees only to Skype questioning.
However, if Saakashvili’s status turns from “witness” into “suspect”, the authorities could demand his extradition from the USA. Saakashvili foresaw this development and “reserved a place” in Ukraine, where he has been living since Petro Poroshenko won the presidential elections.
Recently, Bidzina Ivanishvili stated in an interview: “Mikhail Saakashvili’s team didn’t learn anything. It doesn’t want to admit its mistakes. Only jail can bring them to their senses.” That’s what the authorities will do during the "hot summer."
