Kiev sees no legal obstacles for former Georgian president's extradition

KIEV, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko said on Friday that there are no legal obstacles for extradition of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili after a court in Kiev has rejected his political asylum request.

"Currently, there are no legal obstacles for continuing the extradition process, the extradition checks at the request of the Georgian side," Petrenko was quoted by the government-run Ukrinform news agency as saying.

He said that Kiev will adhere to Ukrainian legislation and international norms in matters related to the possible extradition of Saakashvili to Georgia.

On Monday, Kiev Administrative Court of Appeals has confirmed the decision of a lower court to reject a political asylum application from Saakashvili.

Saakashvili's lawyer Ruslan Chornolutsky said that he would challenge the ruling in the Ukrainian court and the European legal institutions.

The ruling came a month after a Tbilisi court found Saakashvili guilty of abusing power in 2009 during his second term as the president of Georgia and sentenced him in absentia to three years in prison.

Saakashvili, 50, served two terms as Georgia's president from 2004 to 2013. He acquired Ukrainian citizenship in May 2015 and was appointed governor of Odessa region.

Last year, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko revoked Saakashvili's citizenship, following allegations that he had submitted false information while applying for his Ukrainian passport.

Following the decision, Saakashvili has applied for political asylum in Ukraine, but the State Migration Service and later the Kiev District Administrative Court have rejected the request.

On Sept. 5, 2017, the Georgian Chief Prosecutor's Office asked Kiev to take measures for Saakashvili's extradition. Enditem