Georgian PM perplexed by Interpol's decision to remove ex-Justice Minister Adeishvili from wanted list
TBILISI. April 15 (Interfax) - Georgian Prime Minister Irakly Garibashvili said on Wednesday he was perplexed by Interpol's decision to withdraw its Red Notice for former Georgian Justice Minister Zurab Adeishvili.
"If Interpol is pursuing some new policy, this is their decision, but the Georgian government has done everything necessary: it has opened Adeishvili's prosecution, he has been declared wanted and remains wanted. If our materials had been insufficient or not substantiated enough, Interpol would have certainly not circulated a Red Notice for Adeishvili," Garibashvili told journalists on Wednesday.
"Interpol earlier fully accepted the Georgian prosecution bodies' position on Adeishvili and declared him internationally wanted," he said.
The Georgian Chief Prosecutor's Office said in a statement on Tuesday evening that it had received notification from the Interpol General Secretariat on April 9 that it had deleted a Red Notice for Adeishvili as the latter had been granted refugee status in another country.
Georgia asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice for Adeishvili on January 10, 2013, which Interpol did in November 2013.
Adeishvili was considered by some a grey cardinal in former President Mikheil Saakashvili's government. Georgian prosecution agencies have charged him with several crimes, including misappropriation of somebody else's property and organization of and involvement in torture.
After the Georgian Dream political association came to power in Georgia in October 2012, Adeishvili first reportedly stayed in Hungary and is currently staying in Ukraine, where he has been included as an expert in a team working on anti-corruption legislation.
Georgia had earlier demanded that Ukraine extradite Adeishvili and Saakashvili to be prosecuted in their home country.