Georgian president has thanked official structures for successful negotiations with Malaysian authorities, which resulted in lifting death penalty from one of the two Georgian defendants charged with drug smuggling.
Darejan Kokhtashvili and Babutsa Gordadze were arrested in Malaysia with the charges of drug smuggling two years ago, facing death penalty, however, a few days ago, Malaysian court lifted the charges from Darejan Kokhtashvili and sent her to prison for six years, two of which she has already served.
President said the government of Georgia and Georgian society were concerned with the cases of the two Georgian women. President hopes the death penalty will be lifted from Babutsa Gordadze too and the government of Georgia would work afterwards to extradite the defendants for serving their sentences here in Georgia.
`It is now clear that Georgian government will not abandon its citizens anywhere, we are already a state and the time, when our citizens were left without attention has been over. Nobody cared about the fate of Georgian nationals abroad, neither government, nor our diplomatic missions. Now everything has changed,` Saakashvili said and thanked first deputy prosecutor of Georgia Davit Sakvarelidzse personally for his active work.
President also commented on the negotiations conducted by deputy minister of economics Giorgi Karbelashvili for the release of four Georgian sailors after ten month captivity on board of a Turkey-flagged boat captured in breakaway Abkhazia.
President made these comments in Kvareli resort of Kakheti Region, where Saakashvili hosted governmental delegation of Bulgaria.
