Tbilisi - If Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili does not want to be questioned on the South Ossetian-Georgian conflict in August 2008, then he cannot be, Georgia's chief prosecutor Archil Kbilashvili said.
“The president is untouchable and there are no judicial mechanisms which would permit him to be interrogated,” Kbilashvili told reporters on Tuesday.
Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili has said recently that it was necessary to investigate causes and circumstances of the August war and that the president would come to interrogations as many times as he was called. Saakashvili said in response that he had no intention of cooperating with a committee.
Kbilashvili said that it was necessary to clarify some things on the August war and it would be desirable that Saakashvili answer a number of questions.
“It has not been preliminary determined who is to be interrogated. When a group is established and investigation plan is developed, then the necessity to question those related to the topic will emerge. Following general logic, the president could be questioned as well,” the chief prosecutor said. It was just one of the components, not a goal itself, he said.
Kbilashvili said that it would be impossible to question the Russian side in the framework of the August war investigation.
The Georgian chief prosecutor told reporters on April 11 that his agency has established an investigation group, which will study the legal aspects of the August 2008 events.
Ivanishvili said on April 12 that Saakashvili could be interrogated if necessary in the framework of the investigation of the events of the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict.
Saakashvili said in response that he had no intention to participate in the investigation of the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict in August 2008 and that the investigation would damage Georgia’s interests.
