I call on the Government of Georgia not to wait for the December session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in order to release Vano Merabishvili (imprisoned former prime minister) and to bring all the persons involved in the violation of his rights to justice, – Otar Kakhidze, a member of European Georgia Party, said at a press conference today.

According to Kakhidze, the European Court has already established a violation of Article 18 of the European Convention in relation to Vano Merabishvili, which directly means that Merabishvili should be released from imprisonment.

“As you know, the European Court of Human Rights found the violation of Article 18 of the European Convention. This violation means that Merabishvili was in custody for illegitimate purposes. This is the gravest and rarest violation of the Convention, the so-called article on political prisoners.

It is important that authorities respond to this violation by releasing prisoners. Ilgar Mammadov has recently been released for the violation of this article. Before that, Japarov was released. Vano Merabishvili is the only prisoner who remains in detention despite the fact that the Court found the violation of Article 18.

It is important that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe put this case on the December agenda. The government fails to understand the severity of this violation and is trying to delay Merabishvili’s release,’ Kakhidze said.