Merabishvili v. Georgia [GC]

Information Note on the Court’s case-law 212November 2017Merabishvili v. Georgia [GC] - 72508/13Judgment 28.11.2017 [GC]Article 18Restrictions for unauthorised purposesExtension of leader of opposition’s pre-trial detention with primary purpose of obtaining information on matters unrelated to suspected offence: violationFacts – At the relevant time the applicant, a former Prime Minister, was the leader of the main opposition party (the UNM). Between 2012 and 2013, shortly after the “Georgian Dream” movement had been elected into power in October 2012, criminal proceedings were brought against the applicant for abuse of power and other offences. The applicant, who had been held in detention pending his trial, complained that he had thus been removed from the political scene. He also alleged that one night in December 2013 he had been covertly removed from his cell to be questioned by the …