Court: Georgia opposition leader's detention illegal

Ex-Soviet Georgia's constitutional court on Wednesday ruled that a top opposition leader detained on graft charges is being illegally kept in prison.

Former Tbilisi mayor Gigi Ugulava -- an ally of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili -- has been held in pre-trial detention since July 2014 on accusations of misspending state funds.

But the court ruled that his 14-month detention breached a nine-month limit for pre-trial detention set by the constitution and that the authorities were breaking the law by keeping him behind bars.

"Gigi Ugulava's imprisonment is totally illegal," his lawyer Beka Basilaia, told AFP. "He must be released from detention immediately."

Ugulava is one of several former top officials prosecuted after his United National Movement (UNM) party lost legislative elections to the current ruling Georgian Dream coalition in 2012.

Arrests of former top Saakashvili officials for alleged wrongdoing prompted warnings from the West over selective justice and the perceived persecution of political opponents.

During his tenure as the mayor of Tbilisi, Ugulava led major infrastructure projects and social reforms which saw a dramatic improvement in living standards in the Georgian capital.

Source: AFP