Georgia’s former PM detained on office abuse charges

Georgia’s former Prime Minister and former Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili was detained on Monday in the city of Kutaisi on charges of office abuse, a spokesman for the Georgian Prosecutor General’s Office told journalists. According to the spokesman, charges against Merabishvili include vote buying, embezzlement, and gross abuse of the office. These charges carry a punishment of from seven to twelve years in prison. “The Prosecutor General’s Office asks court to sanction Merabishvili’s arrest,” the spokesman said. “Investigators have carried out a comprehensive and objective probe into Merabishvili’s repeated crimes against the man and the state when he occupied top government positions,” he added.