Former head of the Operational Planning Division of the Special Tasks Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Irakli Shaishmelashvili, pleads not guilty, Shaishmelashvili’s lawyer, Natia Mezvrishvili, told InterpressNews.

As she explains, the charges brought against the former high-ranking official are completely unfounded.

“I informed Irakli of his guilt yesterday evening, of course, he does not admit guilt and there is nothing to admit. The accusations are completely unfounded and illegal. None of the evidence presented in the case proves his guilt. As for the statements he made, which the prosecutor’s office is accusing him of, these are statements made entirely within the framework of his constitutional right,” Mezvrishvili said.

The Prosecutor's Office is requesting the use of detention as a preventive measure against Irakli Shaishmelashvili, the former head of the Operational Planning Division of the Special Tasks Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The above was announced at the briefing held at the Prosecutor General's Office of Georgia today.

Irakli Shaishmelashvili was charged in absentia.

“In order to disrupt the normal functioning of the Georgian political system and its constituent constitutional bodies, a group of individuals with a negative attitude towards the government, including the former head of the Operational Planning Division of the Special Tasks Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia - Irakli Shaishmelashvili, on October 4, at a rally planned in Freedom Square in Tbilisi, with the aim of mobilizing citizens who are aggressive towards the government, gathering them and involving them in violent actions, several days before the elections, made public calls for the violent change of the constitutional order of Georgia and the overthrow of the state government. The accused Shaishmelashvili also tried to demoralize the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and called on them not to perform their official duties and not to interfere with those involved in violent actions, in order to achieve the goals aimed at the violent change of the constitutional order of Georgia and the overthrow of the state government.

Irakli Shaishmelashvili was charged in absentia under Article 317 of the Criminal Code of Georgia (Public call to change the constitutional order of Georgia by force or to overthrow the state government), which provides for up to three years of imprisonment as a form and measure of punishment”, a representative of the Prosecutor General's Office said.