Georgia’s former head of military police Megis Kardava, who has been charged with abuse of authority, torture, sexual abuse and illegal imprisonment in Georgia in absentia and is present in 11 different cases, has been extradited from Ukraine to Georgia earlier today. 

It was stated earlier this week that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has taken him under international protection which meant an automatic ban on his extradition. 

However, this did not happen and Ukraine’s green light for extradition has worked.  

Kardava, who took official posts under the United National Movement government, was arrested in Ukraine back in 2017 when he was trying to illegally enter the country from Romania.  

While in Ukraine he requested a political asylum which delayed his extradition to Georgia due to mandatory procedures.  

Last week, when he was on the verge of extradition, Kardava said that Georgian and Ukrainian officials agreed on his extradition because the extradition would boost the rating of the ruling Georgian Dream party in the forthcoming municipal race.  

Kardava has been on the run since 2012 when the Georgian Dream coalition defeated the UNM in the parliamentary elections.  

In 2014 Tbilisi City Court sentenced him to nine years in prison in absentia for torture.