20 December 2012, 20:00
Chataev released on bail appears in court, but session failed
The session of the Tbilisi City Court, scheduled for December 19, on the case of Akhmed Chataev, a native of Chechnya and a Russian citizen, who was detained in a special operation in Lopota Gorge, did not take place due to the failure of the prosecutor to summon his witnesses.
Chataev was detained in Lopota Gorge, where the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Georgia conducted a special operation against militants. He is charged with unlawful possession of an explosive device. Chataev's defence calls these charges unjustified. On December 6, Chataev was released on bail of five thousand laris.
On December 19, the defendant came to the court, but the hearing failed, as the prosecution witnesses never appeared.
As stated by Nino Andriashvili, Chataev's advocate, her client has been already questioned as a witness. Also, the prosecutor's office has interrogated the frontier policemen, who were patrolling the Georgian-Dagestani border during the special operation, the "Georgia Today" reports.
The former Georgian Ambassador to Russia Vazha Lordkipanidze believes that "the refusal of the Georgian party to extradite Chataev is obviously motivates by international norms and humanitarian considerations," the "Izvestia" writes.
