Georgia’s Tsertsvadze free

Gia Tsertsvadze, ex member of the Georgian interior ministry’s special operations squad, was released from Ukraine’s jail late on January 26 upon request of the country’s prosecutor general’s office, Georgia’s broadcaster Rustavi-2 reported. The move was a surprise to supporters of the Georgian lieutenant colonel, coming just hours after after Kiev’s appeals court had upheld his 40-day remand, citing a delay in paperwork.

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“Ukraine never lets its people down, including when its people are Georgians,” Ukraine’s prosecutor general Yuri Lutsenko wrote on his Facebook, confirming the release.

Former member of the Georgian interior ministry’s special operations squad Giorgi Tsertsvadze was arrested in Kiev’s Zhuliany airport several days ago upon Russia’s request. The Russian authorities accuse him, a veteran of Georgian wars and a participant of the Ukrainian government’s military crackdown on pro-Russia rebels, of involvement in a 2003 murder. Interestingly, he was only put on Russia’s international wanted list in 2016. His lawyer and some opposition members claim the Georgian government has divulged Tsertsvadze’s personal data to Russia.