Georgia's Ex-Defense Minister Arrested in Germany

Former Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili has been arrested in Germany on an Interpol warrant filed by Georgian law enforcement officials.

Shota Utiashvili, spokesperson for the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs, confirmed "the fact" of Okruashvili's arrest, but deferred further comment to the Georgian General Prosecutor's Office. A spokesperson for the General Prosecutor's Office declined to comment on the case, saying that information had come "from the German side."

The daily Berliner Zeitung reported on November 28 that Okruashvili was taken into custody in the German capital on November 27. Berlin Police have confirmed the report. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that Iason Chikhladze, the former head of the Georgian Defense Ministry's procurement department, was arrested in Berlin on November 26.

German prosecutors are expected to appear in court on November 29 to argue for Okruashvili's extradition to Georgia, newspapers reported. Under German law, Georgia has 40 days to request an extradition.

Tamar Rukhadze, spokesperson for Okruashvili's United Georgia Party in Tbilisi, told EurasiaNet that the party has received no official word about the ex-defense minister's arrest.

The General Prosecutor's Office was expected to make a statement no later than November 29, Utiashvili said.

The 34-year-old Okruashvili left Georgia on November 1, allegedly to seek medical treatment. He has not since returned to Tbilisi, where he faces criminal charges of money laundering, extortion, abuse of office and negligence. He is being tried in absentia, and on November 27 a defense motion for the trial to be suspended was denied. The trial began on November 16. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Okruashvili, arrested in late September 2007, was released from prison on a 10-million-lari (about $6.6 million) bail after pleading guilty to the charges brought against him and retracting a host of accusations made against President Mikheil Saakashvili and the Georgian government. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. He has since retracted his confession and disavowal of the earlier accusations, saying that "human factors" prompted his statements.