UNM member detained in Kazakhstan ‘at Russia’s request’ but later released, the party says

According to the opposition United National Movement (UNM), one of the party’s politicians, Levan Varshalomidze, was briefly detained at an airport in Kazakhstan while crossing the border. The party claimed the detention was linked to a request from Russia.

The UNM informed journalists about Varshalomidze’s detention on Tuesday evening. By Wednesday afternoon, the head of the party’s Batumi branch, Levan Antadze, told OC Media that Varshalomidze had already been released.

‘He has been released, but as far as I know, legal processes are still ongoing. We expect good news soon’, Antadze said.

Varshalomidze, an ally of ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili, was the head of the government of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara during the UNM rule from 2004 to 2012.

He is also one of the UNM members who held various state positions in Ukraine during the presidencies of Petro Poroshenko and Volodymyr Zelenskyi. In 2020, Zelenskyi appointed Varshalomidze as the head of the country’s Investment Fund.

Various members of the UNM said in interviews on Tuesday that a criminal case had been opened against Varshalomidze in Russia, and that his detention in Kazakhstan was at the request of Moscow.

Party member Gia Baramidze told TV Pirveli that Moscow had accused Varshalomidze of participating in ‘combat operations’ in Ukraine. Baramidze claimed that these accusations were untrue.

"[Varshalomidze] helped Ukraine a lot as the head of the investment council, but he did not participate in military actions’, Baramidze added, noting that Varshalomidze is no longer working in this position.

The UNM did not specify the source of their information regarding the Russian request, but previously, Russian media reported that Varshalomidze was among  100 Georgian citizens for whom Moscow had issued a search warrant based on their alleged ‘mercenary’ activities.

‘He has done a lot for Georgia, but he has also done a lot for Ukraine, which is why he is being persecuted by Russia’, Tina Bokuchava said.

Antadze told OC Media that according to his knowledge, Varshalomidze had a lawyer, and both the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ukrainian side were involved in communication with Kazakh authorities. Antadze did not specify the exact details of how the politician was released.

OC Media reached out to the Georgian Foreign Ministry for a comment, but has not heard back as of the time of this publication

In recent years, Varshalomidze was also involved in Georgian politics. He became a member of parliament in 2020, but like some other opposition figures, he refused to keep his seat after the 2021 local elections, protesting its official results.

Additionally, in 2020, he ran in the UNM leadership elections, but was defeated by Nika Melia.

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