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Ukrainian authorities are preparing to extradite to Georgia a high-ranking security officer of Saakashvili’s time

Former head of the military police department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia Megis Kardava has been detained in Ukraine and is awaiting extradition to Georgia. This was reported today by Georgian media with reference to Kardava’s wife, who posted her husband’s address on her Facebook page.

A high-ranking official during Mikheil Saakashvili’s presidency says that the consideration of his extradition to Georgia, which began in 2017, was “accelerated by the decision of the relevant court of Ukraine.” Kardava himself considers it “an act of political agreement between the parties.” He alleges that Kyiv “informally exchanged” him for two Ukrainian sailors convicted in Batumi of violating state borders.

“I appeal to the People’s Defender, as well as to international organizations, to protect my interests and security, so as not to allow the Russian occupation regime to exert physical and psychological pressure on me through political persecution on fabricated cases in order to obtain false testimony from me.” it is said in the appeal.

Kardava left Georgia in 2012 after a change of government and has been wanted by Interpol since March 2013. At home, he is accused of committing a number of crimes. These include torture, sexual violence, embezzlement and embezzlement.

At the request of the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office, the Security Service of Ukraine detained Kardava on November 1, 2017. He was placed in extradition detention for a maximum of one year. However, Kardava soon applied for asylum in Ukraine. Until the final decision on extradition, his sentence was replaced by house arrest.

Georgia has handed down several convictions in absentia against Kardava. He was found guilty of “degrading or inhuman treatment” in a prison riot case and sentenced to 3 years and 9 months in prison. He was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison for torturing prisoners in the case of the Navtlug special operation.

Another conviction against Kardava was handed down for illegal imprisonment and sexual violence in the case of records found in 2013 near the village of Narazeni, Zugdidi district (Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region) in barrels buried in the ground. For this he received 9 years in prison.

Kardava was sentenced to 9 years in prison in the case of torture of Colonel Sergo Tetradze.

The ex-head of the Military Police was also sentenced to 3 years and 9 months in prison in the case of torture of a prisoner whose name was not disclosed.

To date, five more criminal cases have been filed against Kardav. These are: the case of embezzlement of state funds; the case of the torture of Eldar Kobali, Koba Matkov and Merab Kolbay; the case of the torture of Malkhaz the Arcana; the case of torture and unlawful imprisonment of Elber Koberidze and the case of the assassination of Georgian Major General Roman Dumbadze in Moscow.

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