TOL Georgia

Firebrand Irakli is adopted by France

April 26th, 2008 by jibs

Georgia’s former Defense Minister and Saakashvili’s outspoken critic Irakli Okruashvili was granted asylum by the French authorities. Last month, Okruashvili was jailed in absentia for 11 years by the Georgian court on charges of extortion and large scale bribery.

To remind, the criminal case was brought against Okruashvili in September 2007 after he publicly accused his former ally Saakashvili of a number of scandalous crimes. This prompted large scale protests which eventually resulted in November 7 forceful dispersal of the demonstrators.

A part of the Georgian opposition rejoiced this fact as it confirms that the case against Okruashvili was politically motivated. Logically the Georgian authorities must be upset at a leading EU country sheltering their wanted man, or should they be?

The circumstances surrounding Okruashvili’s case suggest just the opposite. Back in September 2007, Okruashvili was arrested and later released after he confessed of fabricating the accusations against president Saakashvili for personal political dividends. After that Okruashvili was released on a $6 million bail — the amount Okruashvili denies having paid.  

The effect was that Okruashvili had discredited himself by retracting accusations to save his own skin and in addition showed the money he had been illegally accumulating “without” his former allies’ knowledge.

The case against Okruashvili was not dropped and according to the law he was supposed to remain in the country. In the meantime, somehow Okruashvili got a Schengen visa and flew to Germany for medical examination without any obstacles. Once away from Georgia, he restated his accusations against Saakashvili and claimed to have been pressured to retract them in the first place.

Okruashvili also said that he did not intend to leave Georgia — he was given back his passport with a valid visa and boarded on the plane against his will.

One thing is certain: for the Georgian authorities Okruashvili’s presence in Georgian jail is not advantageous — he would be considered a political prisoner and give momentum to the public outrage. Therefore, better have him somewhere else — best of course would be Russia, but, France would work as well — anywhere but Georgia.

From this perspective, it is not a tragedy that Okruashvili found himself a new home. On the contrary, that Okruashvili is relaxing in Paris and not challenging the authorities side by side with the opposition, does not make him look like a martyr he was in September 2007.

Okruashvili, who also chairs an opposition party, is of course not very effective from far away. Once in a while he pops up on a live broadcast, or through interviews to the newspapers. Other than that, he remains detached from Georgia’s mainstream politics.

A real challenge to the authorities would be if Okruashvili returns to Georgia now — would he be arrested after the French court has accepted he is a political fugitive? His return to Georgia could have a major impact on the parliamentary elections scheduled for May 21. Another question is if would risk spending time in jail in case the public does not respond to his self-sacrificial comeback.

If Okruashvili wants a part in the Georgian political life, he then should be pondering his return before the elections. If Paris is OK, then he might as well stay there and forget about his political ambitions.

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