13 September 2017, 15:52
Ukraine not in hurry to extradite Mikhail Saakashvili to Georgia
Mikhail Saakashvili may be extradited to his homeland only after he is sentenced by a court in Georgia. This has been reported today by Denis Chernyshev, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Justice.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 10, Mikhail Saakashvili and his supporters broke through the cordon near the "Shegini" crossing point on the Polish-Ukrainian border. According to the "Interfax", during the incident 11 policemen and five border guards received traumas.
At his homeland, the former Georgian president is accused of a number of crimes, including embezzlement of state funds and abuse of office. On August 18, the Georgia’s General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) reported that it had asked Ukraine law enforcers to extradite Saakashvili.
"The documents sent to us to us and to the General Prosecutor's Office with regard to Mikhail Saakashvili report about criminal cases being considered against him in Georgia. This is not yet the next stage in the process of extradition, and the Ministry of Justice is not involved in the stage. In case if Mikhail Saakashvili is sentenced in Georgia... then it will be a partial prerogative of the Ministry of Justice," the "112 Ukraine" quotes today Denis Chernyshev as saying.
The criminal investigation in the case on the illegal crossing of the state border by the Mikhail Saakashvili's supporters will be carried out by a joint investigators' team created on the basis of the Police for the Lvov Region, its press service reports today.
According to the Police for the Lvov Region, the investigation is being carried out under five articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Today, Oleg Slobodyan, the press secretary for the State Border Service, has reported that 10 border guards were injured during the incident at the state border.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.