Georgian law enforcement agencies have duty to arrest Targamadze - source
MOSCOW. March 6 (Interfax) - The Georgian authorities have a duty to determine the location of politician Givi Targamadze, for whom an international search warrant was issued, and arrest him.
"Appropriate requirements are envisioned by the norms of international law on persons put on the Interpol list," a source in the law enforcement agencies told Interfax.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Interpol had begun the search for Georgian politician Givi Targamadze, who is accused by the Russian law enforcement agencies of involvement in the preparations for mass riots in Russia.
A source familiar with the situation earlier told Interfax the Russian Prosecutor General's Office will request that the Georgian authorities detain and extradite Targamadze after they receive appropriate information from Interpol.
"As soon as Interpol officially establishes the whereabouts of the Georgian politician and notifies the Russian Prosecutor General's Office of it, an official request seeking his detention will be forwarded to Tbilisi," the source told Interfax.
In accordance with international law, the Georgian authorities will be required to detain Targamadze and then consider a request for his extradition, he said.
"After the person who was declared internationally wanted is detained, and after the Russian Prosecutor General's Office is notified of it, the Russian side will demand his extradition," the source said.
However, countries, as a rule, refuse to extradite their citizens, he said.
"The Georgian side will most likely reject a request for Targamadze's extradition, but, at the same time, will suggest that Russia send all the materials related to the suspect, who could face criminal prosecution [in Georgia]," the source said.
NTV showed a documentary titled Anatomy of Protest-2 on October 5. The film authors claimed that Targamadze acted as a mediator in this plan and financed Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov and nationalistic groups in putting it into practice.
Targamadze denies meeting Russian opposition members.
"Such a meeting was not held in Minsk. The discussions that were shown never took place. That video was a fake," Targamadze, former chairman of the Georgian Parliamentary Defense and Security Committee, told the Dozhd television station.
Targamadze was officially declared internationally wanted by Interpol on March 1.