NGO: Ex-PM’s trail complied with Georgian law

No procedural violations have taken place during the trail of ex-Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili and former Health Minister Zurab Tchiaberashvili.

Head of the non-governmental organisation Transparency International-Georgia today released her assessment of the verdict rendered by Kutaisi City Court.

"When it comes to procedural violations and whether the parties had the opportunity to present their arguments, no violation has taken place in this regard, and procedurally, everything is in order,” Eka Gigauri said.

However she noted Merabishvili’s statement claiming he was threatened should have been investigated.

"Our position is that an effective investigation should have been carried out [in response to that statement] and it's too bad that it did not happen. We do not have any complaints regarding the trial itself and we think everything was held in a transparent manner and in full compliance with the law,” Gigauri claimed.

"As for the pressure on the judge, if it really happened, let’s wait and the chairman of the Supreme Court will make a statement regarding this,” she added.

Gigauri believed in general, the Georgia’s court system was "much more independent” following the 2012 parliamentary elections.

Yesterday, Kutaisi City Court imposed a 50 000 bail bond on Tchiaberashvili, while Merabishvili was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment in the case of the so-called fictional employment program.