Georgian FM raises concerns over wanted, ex-official’s meetings in Brussels, Berlin with Ambassadors

Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Monday met with German and EU Ambassadors to Georgia to express concerns over the participation of Zurab Adeishvili, a wanted, former Prosecutor General of Georgia, in recent meetings in Brussels and Berlin as part of an Ukrainian delegation, as an advisor to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. 

During the meeting in the foreign ministry office, the Georgian official emphasized Adeishvili had been implicated in high-profile cases, raising doubts about his suitability for participating in official events in EU countries. 

He expressed hope the EU and its member states would address similar situations “appropriately” in the future. The ambassadors reiterated their commitment to close cooperation on bilateral issues and furthering Georgia’s integration into the bloc, the Georgian foreign office said. 

Adeishvili, who took high posts under the United National Movement Government, was sentenced in absentia to 1.6 years in prison in 2020 for the closure of Iberia TV in 2004. He has also been sentenced in absentia for the illegal raid on Imedi TV in 2007, illegal confiscation of Akura vinery, and abuse of office in the Cartu Bank case. The former official was sentenced in 2021 in absentia to six years in prison for kidnapping and abuse of official authority in the case of former opposition leader Koba Davitashvili.