Georgia, Tbilisi, Nov 14 /Trend N.Kirtzkhalia/
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen refuses to establish a joint commission with Georgia to investigate events in the country, Prime Minister of Georgia Bidzina Ivanishvili said during the press conference after the meeting with Rasmussen in Brussels on Wednesday.
"Both sides expressed regret in connection with the events that took place in Georgia. I am referring to the arrests that took place. I offered the Secretary-General to participate in the process to make everything to be transparent and understandable to all, but Rasmussen did not consider it necessary," Ivanishvili said.
The NATO Secretary General, speaking at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Prague, expressed concern about the politicization of the judicial process in Georgia.
"I support the elections in Georgia and the peaceful transfer of power, but I will not deny that I am very concerned about what is happening, especially the arrest of political opponents. It is unacceptable that trials were politically motivated," he said.
Former Georgian Interior and Defence Minister Bacho Akhalaia, former chief of joint staff of Georgian armed forces Giorgi Kalandadze and brigade commander Zurab Shamatava are all accused of mistreating soldiers.
They are charged under part 3 of Article 333 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which includes abuse of power followed by 'an insult to the personal dignity of the victim.', which carries imprisonment from five to eight years.
Akhalaia had additional charges filed against him under article 143 namely 'illegal suppression of freedom'. This article carries imprisonment of up to 12 years.
All three detainees deny the charges.