Okruashvili released from prison, recants accusations

Molly Corso: 10/09/07

Former Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili is free on bail after pleading guilty to criminal charges brought against him by the government and recanting accusations against Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and his administration. While government officials are praising the development, opposition leaders and members of Okruashvili's newly formed political party believe that he acted under duress.

Okruashvili was allowed to return home at around 4 am on October 9 after paying bail of 10 million lari (roughly $6.06 million), reportedly in a mix of cash and real estate. The onetime Saakashvili confidante was arrested on September 27 on charges of money laundering, extortion, abuse of office and work negligence. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. His arrest came two days after he accused President Saakashvili of conspiring to kill media tycoon Badri Patarkatshvili and indulging in corruption, among other allegations. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight archive].

No statement has yet been made by Okruashvili or his party since his release. According to a report on pro-government television channel Rustavi 2, his bail is the largest in the country's "history of jurisprudence."

At a press briefing on October 8, members of Okruashvili's newly formed United Movement for Georgia party described themselves as "shocked" when his statements, delivered in an interrogation with prosecutors and at a city court hearing, were aired on television on October 8.

"His arrest was a shock, but what I saw today was absolutely unbelievable," parliamentarian Ketevan Makharashvili told EurasiaNet. "The more I think about it, the more I believe he was under very, very serious pressure." The party plans to request that international medical experts be allowed to examine the former minister, she added.

According to Makharashvili, members of the party are further concerned that Okruashvili confessed to the charges brought against him without his attorney being present. "The fact that the attorney was not let into the prison to see him proves that they did not want us to see him," she said.

The exact identity of Okruashvili's attorney has been the subject of debate since his arrest 10 days ago.

While Eka Beselia, a criminal law attorney and member of the United Movement for Georgia, claims to have Okruashvili's explicit permission to represent his interests, the General Prosecutor's office has repeatedly fought to assign a public defender to the case. On October 1, the Tbilisi Court of Appeals ruled that Beselia, in addition to a public defender, would defend the former defense minister. Beselia, however, states that she was not informed about Okruashvili's confession, and was not given access to her client after his statement was announced.

Okruashvili was shown on television during a Tbilisi city court hearing at which he acknowledged a state-appointed attorney as his defense lawyer, and entered a plea of guilty to the charges brought against him. He had previously refused all court appearances, stating in an interview with two Western reporters before his arrest that a "parliamentary commission" was the only "effective institution" to examine his accusations against the president, since the courts "belong to Saakashvili." [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

At the October 8 press briefing, Beselia blasted the confession as a "grave violation" of international standards. Okruashvili signed two statements that stipulate he would only make statements with his lawyer present, she argued.

"The fact that I am not allowed to meet Okruashvili and am not provided with an opportunity to hear from him what he thinks is direct confirmation that he is under pressure," Beselia told television reporters gathered outside Tbilisi's #7 Prison, where Okruashvili was being held.

"[I can see] that he is not in his right mind.... At least, his [Okruashvili's] mother called me on my way to the prison and said that she heard her son's testimony and that this was not her son."

The General Prosecutor's office has released statements broadcast on Georgian television that Okruashvili chose a new lawyer because it was "in his interest."

Deputy Ombudsman Sophiko Khorguani, who, along with other representatives of the ombudsman's office, was allowed to see Okruashvili in prison after his statements were aired, told EurasiaNet that the former defense minister had refused to answer any questions about his apparent change of mind. "He said he would not speak about that topic," she said. Khorguani noted that Okruashvili had a cold and was running a temperature with high blood pressure, but added that the official drug test "did not show positive results" for narcotics in his system and that there were no apparent signs of physical duress.

Okruashvili, however, was "unclear" if he wanted an examination by other doctors, she continued. "I asked if he wanted an alternative examination and his answer was not clear," she said, adding that he could not make up his mind and repeatedly asked if such an examination was necessary.

In his 15-minute confession, Okruashvili, dressed in a warm-up suit, said that his previous allegations were manufactured to "create a favorable" climate for his own political ambitions. He also outlined a plot with media tycoon Patarkatsishvili to discredit the president. Patarkatsishvili is the co-owner of Imedi television station, which received prime access to Okruashvili after he announced plans on September 25 to form a party and first leveled his accusations against the president. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

"The statement I made in regard to his [Patarkatsishvili's – ed] elimination aimed to ensure that he, too, receives political dividends, which at the same time meant his television company's support for my political activities," he said in a prepared statement.

During the televised interrogation, the former minister, occasionally smoking a cigarette, appeared tired and listless. He read his responses to the investigator's questions, which addressed the official criminal charges leveled against him, as well as his own accusations against the president, Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili and allegations that former Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania's body had been moved after his death. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

"I made these statements in order to gain political dividends and put myself in a favorable political situation," he said, adding that he decided to confess to "mitigate" the current situation.

Members of Saakashvili's National Movement Party have reacted sharply to the recantation, calling for Patarkatsishvili, now living in London, to "come out into the light" and stop interfering with Georgian politics. "We are building a free and democratic country. If Mr. Patarkatsishvili has political ambitions, he should come out into the light of day and take part in political competitions in a normal manner," parliamentarian Giga Bokeria, a close associate of Saakashvili, said to journalists on October 8.

That same evening, in a move that some reporters initially interpreted as a joke, National Movement Party General Secretary Davit Kirkitadze gave television journalists hand-drawn caricatures of opposition leaders sporting white, bushy moustaches – a personal trademark of Patarkatsishvili.

Meanwhile, Georgia's Olympic Committee is reportedly planning to hold a session to consider removing Patarkatsishvili as its chairman. In remarks broadcast on Rustavi-2, Goka Gabashvili, the minister of culture, sports and monuments protection, stated that an individual "engaged in dirty political developments" should not hold such a position.

But opposition leaders show no sign of giving up their fight. In a series of emotional statements on the evening of October 8, leaders of a broad coalition formed in the wake of Okruashvili's arrest denounced the government's "Soviet" and "Bolshevik" tactics, and called on listeners to stand up against Saakashvili's "authoritarianism." A November 2 protest rally in front of parliament will still be held, speakers affirmed.

"When I watched Okruashvili's confession, it reminded me of that time when the communists made dissidents give confessions and afterwards showed the testimonies on television," said Democratic Front Chairman Davit Zurabishvili, in remarks printed by the daily 24 Hours.

Yet while opposition leaders continue to rally around Okruashvili, political scientist Giorgi Khutsishvili believes his political career is "finished."

"People expected he would stand by his statement because he really meant it," Khutsishvili said. "The result is people are disappointed. Disappointment in the government is pervasive and permanent, but they are disappointed in Okruashvili's second statement."

Though popular speculation about how investigators obtained Okruashvili's confession may run rampant, he argued, without clear evidence of pressure, the government will likely "get away with it."

Levan Tsutskiridze, rector of the Georgian Institute for Public Affairs, agreed that Okruashvili's retraction will damage his political movement, but stated that the government had suffered as well from its failure to launch a "timely" prosecution of the charges against Okruashvili.

Tsutskiridze added, however, that he believed the government would meet its "obligation" to sort out questions related to the former defense minister's treatment in prison. "We must get accustomed to following the rule of law," he said in an interview.

Editor's Note: Molly Corso is a freelance reporter based in Tbilisi. Elizabeth Owen, EurasiaNet's Caucasus news editor, contributed reporting to this article.

Posted October 9, 2007 © Eurasianet