What is lurking behind the arrest of the former Prime Minister of Georgia?

On May 22 the charges were filed against the Secretary General of the “National Movement” Vano Merabishvili and the Governor of Kakheti Zurab Tchiaberashvili. On May 21 both of them were summoned for questioning to Kutaisi and late that night they were formally charged.

Former Prime Minister Merabishvili is charged under such articles of the Criminal Code: abuse of power, bribery of voters, embezzlement or misappropriation of another’s property. Tchiaberashvili is charged under three articles: abuse of power, bribery of voters, and embezzlement. If the court finds Merabishvili guilty of the accused crimes he will face a prison term from 7 to 12 years.

Lawyers of the former prime minister stated that Merabishvili denies the accusations. Representatives of the “National Movement” refer to the arrest of the general secretary of the party as political pressure and the desire to remove a strong opponent in the presidential elections.

It should be noted that Merabishvili was the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia from 2004 until his appointment on the post of Prime Minister in the summer of last year. He was considered one of the most influential ministers of the government that came to power after the “Rose Revolution.” For the “National Movement” and the previous government Merabishvili has largely been a symbol of successful fight against corruption and crime.

Meanwhile, representatives of the government and the parliamentary majority denied allegations of a political component to the arrest of the former officials. Prime Minister Birdzina Ivanishvili said that political persecution in the country will not be tolerated. He also added that Europe and the United States have already understood that the current government does not carry out selective justice.

The Day asked the President of the Georgian Institute of Strategic Studies, former foreign minister and ex-Attorney General of Georgia Eka TKESHELASHVILI to tell about what is lurking behind the arrest of the former prime minister and how this can influence the further development of the situation in Georgia.

“We will have to see how things will develop from now on. After the parliamentary elections last year we have seen attempts to persecute the former member of the government and the desire of the government to carry out selective justice. Then this process slowed down considerably compared to what we saw in the beginning. But now we can see that this process never stopped and the government continues to incriminate members of the largest opposition party ‘National Movement,’ which was in power for the past eight years.

“This is a test for the government led by Ivanishvili on how they will coexist with the major opposition political party. The understanding of the new government, that good pluralistic political system and cooperation with the ‘National Movement,’ rather than destroying it, is good for the country. And the way the new government will treat representatives of this party, party’s general secretary Vano Merabishvili and the Governor of Kakheti Zurab Tchiaberashvili, as well as a number of other members of the former government. Both these factors will determine the further democratic development of the country.”

Some experts think that the charges against Merabishvili show the desire of the ruling party to get rid of a strong opponent in the presidential elections. What can you say about it?

“It could be true. But being under investigation is not an obstacle for participating in the presidential campaign. And, indeed, he would be a very strong candidate in the upcoming elections. Potentially, this can be considered as one of the reasons. But, it’s rather about whether the ‘National Movement’ will remain in the political arena as a strong opposition or whether it will be marginalized. And marginalization of the opposition can badly impact the development of the country. For the first time in our country there is a significant strong opposition party. This can only facilitate the development of the country.

“Reform of the judicial system is a process that takes time. We are very proud of the fact that corruption has been completely eliminated in the judicial system. I am fully confident that the long process of changing the law developed in such a way that we now have a guarantee that the judges feel independent. They are professional and demonstrate high competence in issuing verdicts.”

“And now the responsibility of the new government is to show how it is going to continue to move forward along the path of democracy. The authorities should make it clear that they will not destroy the ‘National Movement.’ And they have to pass this test. Before some representatives of the current government mentioned in their political statements that they want to destroy the opposition party. And it’s not a good sign. Until now, the main factor that prevented Georgia from immersing in the process of selective justice implementation is that the judiciary system acted independently and energetically, following the requirements of the rule of law.”

Do you have concerns that the judicial system built by the previous government in which Merabishvili became a symbol of a successful fight against corruption and crime, will avoid such phenomenon as selective justice?

“Reform of the judicial system is a process that takes time. We are very proud of the fact that corruption has been completely eliminated in the judicial system. I am fully confident that the long process of changing the law developed in such a way that we now have a guarantee that the judges feel independent. They are professional and demonstrate high competence in issuing verdicts.

“Right after the parliamentary elections in October of last year, it was interesting to see how judges acted in a situation when the new government made it clear to them what it wants: high profile cases involving members of former government were expected to be tried in court very quickly.

“Judges faced the choice to either listen to the new government or act independently, based on the rule of law. And we saw that the judges acted independently, because during the rule of the previous government highly professional judicial staff was trained. The judges were not afraid to make decisions, despite the fact that they could have had problems because of it. And from this situation we can say that the judges and the judiciary system work independently.

“The absence of selective justice in Georgia can be explained by the fact that the courts act independently. In this sense, they are doing a good job for the government.”

Ms. Tkeshelashvili, I saw on the Georgia online website that you, together with former and current members of Georgia’s diplomatic corps, signed a declaration expressing your willingness to pledge for Kakheti Governor Zurab Tchiaberashvili. What is your motivation for doing so?

“It was our spontaneous reaction. As former colleagues, we want to support him as one of the most successful diplomats in the country. It was a great honor for me to be in the government together with him when Russia invaded Georgia. He is a great patriot and an excellent professional, so he needs to be treated with respect. It is not clear to us why they had to be detained and kept under some constraints during the preliminary investigation, because both Merabishvili and Tchiaberashvili have been cooperating with the investigators in the past months.”

As is known, the new government has declared that its main priority is to join the EU and NATO. Nonetheless, in view of cases being opened against members of the previous government, many experts are concerned that Georgia is falling back from democracy. What can you say about this?

“It is too early to speak about it. However, the current signals and trends are very alarming. But I don’t think that the persecution of Merabishvili and Tchiaberashvili and the ridiculous case against a former energy minister are not serious from the viewpoint of criminal law. These cases smack of political motivation. And this is evident to everyone. I don’t think it will help Georgia move closer to the EU and NATO. These organizations previously warned our government against opening criminal cases against former government members. And then Tbilisi listened to our friends from the EU and NATO. It will be even more appropriate to do so now when we have great expectations for the Vilnius summit at which the Association Agreement may be initialed. This would be a landmark in Georgia’s progress toward the EU rather than its moving away from Europe. I believe that the government is aware of this and will act responsibly also in this case.”

Premier Ivanishvili said the other day that Europe and the USA realized a long time ago that the current government was not practicing selective justice. You often travel abroad. What do you hear about this?

“Clearly, the West had plenty of questions regarding persecutions of former government members. And when it began, no one was saying that it was selective justice. Then a quiet period followed. After that, it became clear that warning from our friends in the West produced a good effect on the government. The new government became more responsible with regard to the opposition. Now we see the second chapter, or continuation, of this process. The beginning of the investigation and cases opened against the former prime minister of Kakheti Region governor are evidence that this process is continuing. All the questions that were raised earlier will, I am sure, be raised again: Why is the government continuing the process? What are the authorities going to do? The key message that has been sent to the new government is that the authorities must understand that the existence of the strong opposition or one strong opposition party, as is the case in Georgia, is vital for the democratic development of the country.”