Tbilisi Appeal Court Once Again Acquits Ex-Defense Minister

Tbilisi, Georgia, April 17



By Nana Kirtzkhalia - Trend:



Tbilisi Appeal Court upheld the acquittal decision of Tbilisi City Court with regard to ex-Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia and his seven subordinates.



The Judge Levan Tevzadze said the prosecutor's office could not bring any new evidences against the former minister.



Akhalia and his subordinates were accused of inhumane treatment of soldiers.



The case involved the training of seven soldiers at Yagluja Mountain as part of a survival program. The prosecutor's office claimed that seven special squad soldiers were intentionally subjected to torture, as they were political opponents.



However, the defense proved that they underwent an usual training course of special forces.



Despite the court's decision, Bacho Akhalaia is in prison because he was sentenced to five years for abuse of authority during a prison riot in 2006, when he was the head of Georgian Department of Corrections.



Translated by E.A.



Edited by C.N.