David Georgievich Sakvarelidze ( ka, დავით საყვარელიძე; uk, Давід Георгійович Сакварелідзе; born 15 September 1981,
Tbilisi) is a
Ukrainianand former
Georgian politician, prosecutor, and attorney.
Biography
He was Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Georgia from 2008 to 2012. He pursued a zero-tolerance policy for crime. In early June 2011 Sakvarelidze said he has requested the Tbilisi City Court issue an arrest warrant for Badri Bitsadze, who was accused of organizing attacks on policemen during anti-governmental protests in May 2011 and did not pay 100,000 Laris for bail.
Sakvarelidze was an MP in the Parliament of Georgia, representing the opposition
United National Movement party, between 2012 and 2015. On 16 February 2015, Sakvarelidze was appointed as Deputy
General Prosecutor of Ukraine. Sakvarelidze was also granted
Ukrainian citizenship. In office he accused colleagues of taking bribes to protect the freezing of assets of allegedly gained from
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
.
In March 2016 he was fired from the General Prosecutor office charged with a “gross violation of the rules of prosecutorial ethics”.
Sakvarelidze is a key ally of
Mikheil Saakashvili. Sakvarelidze created a new political party in autumn 2016 that claims Saakashvili as its “ideologist.” At the end of 2016 he joined Saakashvili's
Movement of New Forces
Movement of New Forces ( uk, Рух нових сил, ''Rukh Novykh Syl'') is a Ukraine, Ukrainian political party that was founded as the "Party of Harmonious Development" on February 11, 2015 and renamed in February 2017 by Mikheil Saakashvili.
...
party.
Controversy
On 27 February 2022, during an interview with the
BBC, Sakvarelidze faced backlash on
social media for his comments in regards to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
. Sakvarelidze stated that the war situation unfolding in Ukraine was "very emotional" for him because "European people with blue eyes and blonde hair" were
being killed every day.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakvarelidze, David
1981 births
Living people
Politicians from Tbilisi
Ukrainian prosecutors
Emigrants from Georgia (country) to Ukraine
Naturalized citizens of Ukraine
21st-century Ukrainian politicians
United National Movement (Georgia) politicians
Movement of New Forces politicians
Recipients of the Presidential Order of Excellence