Parliament failed to hold a session on Friday due to lack of quorum after lawmakers from opposition UNM party refused to undergo registration in protest over keeping former commander of the Interior Ministry’s special task force, Kakha Nakani, in pre-trial detention.

Nakani is in pre-trial detention since early February, when he and four other former police officials and six servicemen of the Interior Ministry’s special task force were arrested and charged in connection to death of two men in a police operation in 2006, which the prosecution claims was “premeditated murder”. It was reported on April 16 that Nakani attempted to commit a suicide in his cell on April 15. The ministry in charge of prison system said that Nakani suffered non-life-threatening injuries, which were self-inflicted in protest over his and other former servicemen’s detention. Nakani’s defense lawyer said that his client was also demanding his transfer from prison No.8 to other penitentiary facility, where usually arrested former law enforcement officers are held.

Although UNM lawmakers were present in a parliament chamber in Kutaisi, they refused to undergo registration; some lawmakers from the GD parliamentary majority group, which has 87 seats, and MPs from Free Democrats opposition party were absent and as a result it was not possible to gather 76 MPs for registration – a minimum number required for a session to be opened.

“We resorted to this boycott, to this procedural war in order to draw public attention to the case of Nakani and other former special task force servicemen, who are victims of illegal prosecution,” UNM MP Pavle Kublashvili said.

Among other issues, the Parliament was expected to vote on draft amendments to the criminal code related to broadening scope of the offenses related to participation in illegal armed groups, including abroad. The Parliament was also planning hearing of a report from personal data protection inspector and discussion of opposition Free Democrats party’s proposal on summoning chief prosecutor.