Former Interior Ministry official accused of plotting murder of billionaire Patarakatsishvili released
A Tbilisi court released former senior Interior Ministry official Giorgi Merebashvili from pre-trial detention yesterday, though he remains a central figure in what the prosecutor’s office says was a plot to murder influential businessman Badri Patarakatsishvili.
Secret audio recordings and the testimonies of other high-ranking Interior Ministry officials from the reign of former President Saakashvili led to Merebashvili’s imprisonment.
Billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili was considered the main opponent of President Mikheil Saakashvili.
In the recordings, several male voices discuss the possible murder of Patarkatsishvili, and was unexpectedly released last year.
Merebashvili spent nine months in prison.
Merebashvili was released because the term of preliminary detention has expired, but the investigation continues. B
Patarakatsishvili died of a heart attack in 2008 in London. There were many rumors about the cause of his death, but the UK secret services confirmed that the billionaire died because of heart problems.
