- Irakli Okruashvili
-
Irakli Okruashvili 
Minister of Defense of Georgia In office
December 2004 – 10 November 2006Succeeded by Davit Kezerashvili Prosecutor General of Georgia In office
November 2003 – May 2004Minister of the Interior of Georgia In office
May 2004 – December 2004Minister of Economic Development of Georgia In office
10 November 2006 – 17 November 2006Personal details Born 6 November 1973
Tskhinvali, South Ossetian AO, Georgian SSR, USSRIrakli Okruashvili (Georgian: ირაკლი ოქრუაშვილი) (born 6 November 1973) is a Georgian politician who had served on various important posts in the Government of Georgia under President Mikheil Saakashvili, including being the Minister of Defense from December 2004 until being dismissed in November 2006.
In September 2007, Okruashvili staged a scandalous comeback to Georgian politics, openly confronting Mikheil Saakashvili and creating the opposition party Movement for United Georgia. On September 27, 2007, Okruashvili was briefly arrested at his party headquarters on the charges of corruption, money laundering, and abuse of office.[1] In 2007 he left Georgia and was granted political asylum in France. He was sentenced to 11-year prison term in Georgia in absentia in March 2008. In October 2010, he, remaining in France, joined Sozar Subari, Levan Gachechiladze and Erosi Kitsmarishvili in the new Georgian Party.[2]
Contents
Political career
Irakli Okruashvili was born in Tskhinvali, South Ossetian AO, Georgian SSR. He graduated from Faculty of International Law and Relations at Tbilisi State University. He then worked as an attorney.
In government
Okruashvili served as the Deputy Minister of Justice from 2000 to 2001. He joined Mikhail Saakashvili's United National Movement and was elected as a member of Tbilisi Assembly (Sakrebulo) in 2002. After the Rose Revolution, Okruashvili was appointed the Person Authorized (governor) of the President of Georgia in Shida Kartli (to which breakaway South Ossetia was a de jure part) in November 2003 and established strong anti-corruption and anti-smuggling measures in the region.
He served as the Prosecutor General from January 2004 until Saakashvili appointed him Interior Minister in June 2004 and moved him to the post of Defence Minister in December 2004. During his tenure as defence minister, Okruashvili was known for advocating military actions against the separatists in South Ossetia.[3]
Okruashvili said on May 1, 2006, that he would resign if Georgia failed to restore control over breakaway South Ossetian by January 1, 2007.[4]
On November 10, 2006 Saakashvili appointed him Minister for Economic Development. Davit Kezerashvili became the Minister of Defence.[5] Okruashvili resigned as Minister for Economic Development on 17 November 2006.[6]
In opposition
On September 25, 2007, he announced the formation of the new opposition Movement for United Georgia and unleashed criticism on President Saakashvili, accusing him of corruption, incompetency and human rights violations. He also raised new concerns around Zurab Zhvania's death, challenging the official investigation point of view[7] and personally accused the Georgian president in planning the murder of businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili.[8][9]
Speculations about Okruashvili's planned party had been circulating for a long time already and many commentators expected, what they called, "a war of compromising materials" in case of Okruashvili's political comeback. The presentation was preceded by the controversies over financial irregularities surrounding the party's new office and the arrest of Mikheil Kareli, Orkuashvili's close associate and governor of Shida Kartli, on the charges of corruption.[10]
Arrest
On September 27, 2007, Okruashvili was detained on charges of extortion, money laundering, and abuse of office while Georgia's defense minister.[11] On September 28, 2007, several opposition parties organized a peaceful mass rally in Okruashvili's support at the Parliament of Georgia.[12]
On October 8, 2007, in a video taped confession released by the General Prosecutor's Office, Okruashvili pleaded guilty to large-scale bribery through extortion and negligence while serving as minister and retracted his accusations against the president, winning release on bail of 10 million Georgian lari. He also said that his earlier accusations levelled against Saakashvili were not true and were aimed at gaining political dividends for himself and Badri Patarkatsishvili and at discrediting the President of Georgia. Some opposition leaders said Okruashvili's statement had been made under duress.[13][14] Okruashvili declared, however, that he had decided to cooperate with the investigation in order to "mitigate [his] situation".[15]
Expulsion from Georgia
After he pleaded guilty, Okruashvili was released. Okruashvili left Georgia around November 1, 2007. He subsequently said he was forced into exile; the government said he had asked to leave because of medical issues.[16]
On November 5, 2007, Okruashvili made a surprise appearance on Imedi TV from Munich, claiming that he had been forced to retract accusations against President Saakashvili while being in jail.[17] A Georgian prosecuting officer, however, rejected Okruashvili's allegations, while the senior members of the Parliament of Georgia for the ruling party described him "an instrument in the hands of Patarkatsishvili", the owner of Imedi TV, who financed opposition rallies against the Georgian government.[18]
On November 14, 2007, following a Prosecutor's Office request, a court in Tbilisi ruled that Okruashvili be returned to police custody pending investigation.[19] In December 2007, he was arrested in Germany at the request of Georgia, but was later transferred to France, where a court ruled that he be freed on bail with Georgia's extradition request to be examined on April 16, 2008. In the meantime, a Georgian court found him guilty of "large-scale extortion" and sentenced him to 11 years in prison in absentia on March 28, 2008.[20] On April 23, 2008 he was granted political asylum.[21] The French courts ultimately rejected the extradition request as well.[22]
In September 2008 Reuters reported Okruashvili had said that Saakashvili had long planned the 2008 South Ossetia war but had executed it poorly. While defence minister from 2004 to 2006 he and Saakashvili worked together on military plans to retake South Ossetia and Abkhazia, saying "Abkhazia was our strategic priority, but we drew up military plans in 2005 for taking both Abkhazia and South Ossetia as well".[3]
In October 2010, Okruashvili resigned his position in the Movement for United Georgia and shortly afterwards joined with the high-profile Georgia-based politicians — Sozar Subari, Levan Gachechiladze, and Erosi Kitsmarishvili to establish a new opposition party, the Georgian Party.
Possible Return
In a phone interview with the Tbilisi-based Maestro TV on May 22, 2011 he said “On May 25 I will be in Georgia together with my people. I will not talk about details. On May 25 we will manage to put an end to Saakashvili’s regime with minimal losses. If there is a great public support, the losses will be minimal. So, everybody should acknowledge the responsibility, which should be assumed before our country.”[23]
References
- ^ Okruashvili Arrested. Civil Georgia. 2007-09-27.
- ^ New Opposition Party Launched. Civil Georgia. 2010-10-12
- ^ a b Brian Rohan (September 14, 2008), Saakashvili "planned S. Ossetia invasion" : ex-minister, Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSLD12378020080914, retrieved 2008-09-14
- ^ http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=12452
- ^ Georgian President Replaces Defense Minister VOA News
- ^ Georgia: Former Defense Minister Submits "Shock" Resignation EurasiaNet
- ^ Okruashvili Ups Ante on Former Allies - The Georgian Times
- ^ Praise, Scorn For Accusations Against Georgia President
- ^ Georgia's Ex-Minister Assails President - Forbes, Associated Press
- ^ Okruashvili Breaks Silence by Lashing Out at Saakashvili. Civil Georgia. 2007-09-25.
- ^ Former Defense Minister Detained In Georgia. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. September 27, 2007.
- ^ Opposition Vows More Protests. Civil Georgia. 2007-09-28.
- ^ Okruashvili May Be Freed on Bail after Pleading Guilty. Civil Georgia, 2007-10-08.
- ^ Court sets Georgia's former defense minister free on bail. International Herald Tribune. October 8, 2007.
- ^ Okruashvili Hopes Guilty Plea will 'Mitigate Situation'. Civil Georgia, 2007-10-08.
- ^ Georgia: Firebrand Okruashvili's Televised Return Boosts Opposition
- ^ Sidelined Okruashvili Back into Play. Civil Georgia. 2007-11-06.
- ^ Ruling Party Targets Tycoon in Drive to Confront Opposition. Civil Georgia. 2007-11-06.
- ^ Court Order for Okruashvili's Detention. Civil Georgia. 2007-11-14.
- ^ Okruashvili Jailed for 11 Years in Absentia, Barred from Polls. Civil Georgia. 2008-03-28.
- ^ France Grants Asylum to Okruashvili. Civil Georgia. April 23, 2008.
- ^ France won't extradite former Georgian defence minister
- ^ Okruashvili: 'Army's Choice Will Decide Georgia's Fate'
Categories:- 1973 births
- Jurists from Georgia (country)
- Living people
- Georgian exiles
- People from Tskhinvali
- United National Movement politicians
- Government ministers of Georgia (country)
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