President Ordered Adjarian Leader to Release Asanidze

Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 8 Apr.'04 / 18:15

President Saakashvili ordered Adjarian leader Aslan Abashidze to release Adjarian prisoner Tengiz Asanidze after winning a case in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

“I order Aslan Abashidze to immediately release Tengiz Asanidze. If he defies my order, we will release Asanidze. We can carry out all the appropriate measures to do this,” Mikheil Saakashvili told reporters on April 8.

“Do not test my patience,” Saakashvili added.

According to the ECHR’s ruling, Tengiz Asanidze, former mayor of Batumi, should be released immediately after 12 years of imprisonment.

He is currently in custody in Adjarian Autonomy, despite having received a presidential pardon in 1999 and having been acquitted by the Supreme Court of Georgia in 2001.