Epress.am News from Armenia
Former Georgian defense minister Irakli Okruashvili, who fled the country from criminal persecution, promised to return to Georgia to participate in the May 25 opposition rally.
“May 25 will be the last day of the current administration,” Okruashvili declared, in a brief interview by phone aired on the Tbilisi-based Maestro TV.
Since 2007, Okruashvili has been living in France where he has received political asylum, reports Civil.ge. In March 2008, he was sentenced to an 11-year prison term in Georgia in absentia.
As reported by Novosti-Gruzya (“News Georgia”), the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has promised to arrest Okruashvili as soon as he returns to his homeland. “We are waiting for him,” said head of the MIA’s Informational-Analytical Department Shota Utiashvili.
On May 21, there were mass opposition rallies in Georgia demanding the resignation of President Mikhail Saakashvili. The opposition has pledged to continue protesting till May 25.