Advocate states violations of Gigi Ugulava's rights at and after detention in Tbilisi

Gigi Ugulava, the former Mayor of Tbilisi, detained on Thursday at the airport of the Georgian capital, is questioned at the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), said his advocate Georgy Gelkhauri. According to the lawyer, the detention of his client was accompanied by numerous violations. However, Maya Panjikidze, the MIA boss, said that law enforcers had acted as needed.

Ugulava's detention occurred in the morning at the airport, from where he planned to go to Chisinau to attend a conference of the regional branch of the Council of Europe. At night, he received a new summon for questioning by the financial police, scheduled for July 4.

From the airport Ugulava was first delivered to the investigative service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia, which on June 30 announced that the politician was charged of a large-scale embezzlement. Then, he was brought to one of the buildings of the Georgia's MIA, said Georgy Gelkhauri, adding that his client has no idea why exactly he was detained.

After his detention, Gigi Ugulava, who is the head of the electoral office of the oppositional "United National Movement", reiterated the political motives of the cases initiated against him.