Georgian court refuses to release David Kirkitadze

The Gurdjaani District Court has refused to release David Kirkitadze, an activist of the oppositional "United National Movement" (UNM) Party, from custody, despite the petition with 15,000 signatures, presented by the defence.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that David Kirkitadze, a UNM member, was arrested in connection with the investigation into clashes between the opposition and the police on December 16. On February 15, 2019, activists of the UNM's youth wing staged a protest, demanding to stop the criminal prosecution of Kirkitadze.

However, on February 25, the above court refused to release David Kirkitadze from custody during the consideration of his case, despite the petition demanding to release him with 15,000 signatures, submitted to the court, the advocate, Giorgi Kondakhashvili, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to his story, the signatures were collected by UNM members since January in different cities of Georgia. Those who signed the petition stated that they were ready to vouch for Kirkitadze, said the advocate.

"The judge refused to release him on bail, since the signatories to the petition were not present at the trial. We've accepted this judge's challenge, and the absolute majority of those MPs and other people, who are ready to take Kirkitadze on bail, will come to the next court session scheduled for March 12," Mr Kondakhashvili has promised.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 25, 2019 at 09:45 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.