Interpol treats Russia's request to seek Targamadze as political

The Interpol has stopped searching for the Georgian MP Givi Targamadze, who had been put on the international wanted list by the Russian MIA, by regarding the request of the Russian party as politically motivated. As of May 12, Targamadze is still being wanted in Russia.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Givi Targamadze had been arrested in absentia on February 21 on suspicion of preparing riots in Russia. On March 1, Targamadze was put on the international wanted list. The Georgian politician said he did not consider himself guilty. Targamadze spent three months was in Lithuania and returned to Georgia on May 11.

On March 25, the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili sent a request to the Interpol about the situation with the Russia's demand to have Targamadze. The official reply from the secretary general of the Interpol Ronald Kenneth Noble of April 5 said that the legal department of the Interpol had treated the Russia's demand on Targamadze as inconsistent with Article 3 of the Charter, the "Novaya Gazeta" reported on May 11.

"The organization is categorically forbidden to carry out any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character," says the Charter of the Interpol.

Besides, according to the response of the secretary general, all information about Targamadze will be deleted from Interpol's databases.

The criminal case about preparation of the riots in Russia was initiated on the basis of the film "Anatomy of a Protest-2", which tells about the meeting of the coordinator of the "Left-Wing Front" Sergey Udaltsov with the Georgian MP Givi Targamadze. Both Udaltsov and Targamadze have refuted the information circulated in the film.

It should be noted here that the Regional Court of Vilnius, while refusing to arrest Targamadze and extradite him to Russia, has also regarded that the harassment of the politician "was caused by political reasons," the TV Channel "Dozhd" reports today.