Tbilisi Court of Appeals refused on August 5 to accept an appeal against ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili’s pre-trial detention in absentia as inadmissible.

Tbilisi City Court ordered on August 2 Saakashvili’s detention pending trail in connection to exceeding official authority charges related to the November 7, 2007 events and their aftermath; the ruling was appealed to higher court by Saakashvili’s defense lawyer, but judge of Tbilisi appeals court Manuchar Kapanadze found the complaint inadmissible.  
 
Saakashvili’s defense lawyer, Otar Kakhidze, said that Court of Appeals’ decision was not a surprise; he claimed that the judicial system usually politically adjusts its decisions to government’s will when it comes to high-profile political cases.

Additional, separate criminal charges of exceeding official authority were pressed by prosecutor’s office against Saakashvili on August 5, accusing the ex-president of ordering beating up of an opposition lawmaker in 2005.