Georgia places Saakashvili on domestic most wanted list - prosecutor's office
TBILISI. Aug 15 (Interfax) - Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has been placed on the domestic most wanted list, the Georgian Prosecutor General's Office said on Thursday evening.
The resolution placing Saakashvili on the wanted list has already been submitted to a relevant agency - the Interior Ministry, the prosecutor's office said.
Amid the accusations brought regarding Saakashvili earlier, the court ruled to place him under arrest in absentia, the prosecutor's office said.
Saakashvili will be detained as soon as he crosses the Georgian border, the agency said.
The former Georgian president has been charged over three criminal cases.
On August 2, the Tbilisi City Court granted a request made by Georgian prosecutors and arrested Saakashvili, former justice minister Zurab Adeishvili, and former defense minister David Kezerashvili in absentia. The men are charged with abuse of office.
The criminal case involved the dispersal of an opposition rally on November 7, 2007, the pogrom of the television company Imedi, and the seizure of the property of Badri Patarkatsishvili, founder of the television company. Former prime minister Vano Merabishvili and former mayor of Tbilisi Gigi Ugulava are suspects in the case.
On August 5, Saakashvili was charged with organizing an attack on Georgian parliamentarian Valery Gelashvili.
The former Georgian president is also suspected of embezzling "large amounts of budget funds" to finance his personal needs and his family through the fund of the State Protection Service.
The Prosecutor's Office believes that Saakashvili illegally spent 8.8 million lari, or around $6 million, on these purposes, including hotel bills, massage services, souvenirs, food delicacies, etc.
Saakashvili is currently residing abroad and does not want to return to Georgia.
He has dismissed all accusations levied against him as "political persecution."