TBILISI. Dec 17 (Interfax) - Former Georgian Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili, who is in a detention facility, said that Georgian Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze pressured him.
"Last week, overnight into Saturday, I was taken from the prison in a car with my clothes over my head. I was brought presumably to a penitentiary department, where Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze threatened me, demanding 'cooperation' on the case concerning the death of former Prime Minister [Zurab] Zhvania and on another case about the funds allegedly stolen by [former Georgian President Mikheil] Saakashvili," Merabishvili said on Tuesday during a court hearing in the city of Kutaisi.
"The prosecutor offered me free exit abroad for the 'necessary' testimony, otherwise my detention conditions will deteriorate considerably," Merabishvili said.
Following this statement Merabishvili refused to participate in the court hearing as a sign of protest.
Meanwhile, the Georgian Prosecutor General's Office said that the statement of Merabishvili was "not serious" and, according to the Prosecutor General's Office press office head Temur Dolidze, an official statement regarding this will be made soon.