15:29, 13 March 2019

David Kirkitadze declared his distrust in court

Leaders of the "United National Movement" and "European Georgia" parties who vouched for David Kirkitadze in the court. Photo by Inna Kukudzhanova for the Caucasian Knot

After the court refused to release him, David Kirkitadze, an activist of the opposition "United National Movement" (UNM) party, declared his distrust in the court and called into question the participation of his advocates in the trial.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that David Kirkitadze has been in custody since December 19, 2018. On February 25, the court refused to release him, despite the motion with 15,000 signatures submitted by the defence.

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.

On March 12, the Gurjaani District Court again refused to release David Kirkitadze from arrest. The defendant and the MPs who vouched for him left the court hearing in protest.

About 2000 people - everyone who decided to vouch for David Kirkitadze, including 27 MPs - arrived at the trial in the David Kirkitadze's case, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Giorgi Kondakhashvili, an advocate of the defendant.

At the court hearing, the advocates have stated they are ready to submit to the court the David Kirkitadze's identification documents as a guarantee that he will not be able to cross the borders of Georgia. The defence has justified the request to release David Kirkitadze by the fact that he is to attend the funeral of a member of his family, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Judge Nunu Nemsitsveridze has dismissed the defence motion and explained her decision by the fact that the advocates did not indicate the new circumstances of the case and "the court of the same instance cannot consider the same case twice."

After the court refused to release him, David Kirkitadze declared his distrust in the court and called into question the further participation of his advocates in the trial. David Kirkitadze has stated that he "does not need defense in court" and that he will have consultation with his three advocates on the issue.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 13, 2019 at 11:19 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Inna Kukudzhanova

Source: CK correspondent