Ex-chief of department at Georgian military police extradited to Georgia from Netherlands
TBILISI. March 22 (Interfax) - The former director of the special assignments department of Georgia's military police, Giorgi Dgebuadze, was extradited to Georgia from the Netherlands last night, Georgian media reported on Tuesday.
A Georgian court convicted Dgebuadze in absentia on charges of abuse of power, organizing illegal deprivation of freedom and torture. Dgebuadze, nicknamed 'Master', took part almost in all operations alongside special operations forces to disperse the opposition's protests in Tbilisi. Georgian media reported several years ago that Dgebuadze had got his nickname for using highly sophisticated methods of torture on inmates.
Dgebuadze secretly left Georgia following a change of power in 2012. Using the court's conviction in absentia, the Georgian Prosecutor's Office declared him internationally wanted via Interpol. He was detained in the Netherlands in 2014. For two years, the Georgian Prosecutor's Office held talks with Dutch prosecutors, seeking to persuade them to extradite Dgebuadze to Georgia. These negotiations were completed only several days ago, and Dgebuadze was extradited to Tbilisi last night. TV footage showing his arrival at the Tbilisi airport was broadcast by Georgian television stations on Tuesday morning.