Based on the judge’s decision, ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili‘s remote involvement in the trial was stopped.
Judge Badri Kochlamazashvili repeatedly urged Saakashvili to talk about the case and the accusations against him, after which the judge made a decision to disconnect him remotely.
Kochlamazashvili claimed that Saakashvili “talks about global political issues and he is not invited to the court as a political commentator”.
“He did not obey the judge’s repeated calls to stop talking. This is a statement, not a political news review. Today, as in all previous court sessions, the accused was given the opportunity to make a statement. The court listened to him for about 13-14 minutes. During this time, he was given an explanation at the initial stage, before making a statement, that he should not go beyond the scope of the criminal case and talk about the charges presented, although he had from the beginning the attitude that everything that happens in the world is related to the case at hand, which does not correspond to reality. Therefore, he was repeatedly instructed to finish or to keep his discussion within the scope of the case at hand, but he did not obey the repeated calls made by the judge. At this time, the court has the right to stop the accused when he speaks and goes beyond the discussed issues, which are related to the criminal case. We, the judges, have the right legally that at any time, be it a party, be it an accused or an interrogated person, who goes beyond the scope of the criminal case, to make them stop talking. In this case, this is exactly what happened,” said Badri Kochlamazashvili.
The judge’s decision was followed by the dissatisfaction of Saakashvili’s supporters in the courtroom.
“Russians”, “You will be sanctioned together with Murusidze”, – with these shouts some of the persons in the hall left the court.
The judge’s decision was also followed by dissatisfaction of the lawyers.
“The persons participates from the hospital, he tells you he is about to finish. You don’t give him the right to speak and turn him off? If he was already finishing, why didn’t you let him finish? As long as Mikheil Saakashvili doesn’t get involved, the process cannot continue without his participation,” said the lawyer, to which the judge said that Saakashvili had stated his position that he agreed to allow his lawyers to proceed with the hearing.
The trial of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili and ex-head of the special state protection service Teimuraz Janashia, who are accused of embezzling a large amount of budget funds, is being held in the Tbilisi City Court.
