Georgia: Former Tbilisi mayor detained at airport
Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
Publication Date | 3 July 2014 |
Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Georgia: Former Tbilisi mayor detained at airport, 3 July 2014, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/53ce304b10.html [accessed 12 October 2022] |
Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
July 03, 2014
By RFE/RL's Georgian Service
The former mayor of Tbilisi, Gigi Ugulava, was detained at the Tbilisi airport early on July 3 as he was traveling to Kyiv and Chisinau.
Ugulava, who is also the head of the electoral office of the opposition United National Movement party, has been charged with large-scale misuse and embezzlement of budget funds.
On July 2, the Tbilisi City Court did not sustain a motion that would have allowed Ugulava to pay a bail of 50,000 laris ($28,300) and stripped him of his passport and identification documents.
Ugulava has traveled abroad and returned to Georgia several times since criminal charges were first filed against him in February 2013.
However, prosecutors claimed that this time Ugulava "was not intending to return to Georgia."
Ugulava has said all of the charges against him are politically motivated.
With reporting by civil.ge
Link to original story on RFE/RL website