Page 12 - bne IntelliNews George country report Sept 2017

2.5 Georgian interior ministry suspends top officials, seeks transparency in abducted journalist probe
Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Mgebrishvili suspended the head of the country's border police and the director of the counterintelligence department on July 20 in order to ensure the impartiality of an investigation into the abduction of Azerbaijani journalist Afghan Muftarli , according to Democracy & Freedom Watch (dfwatch).
The move comes after intense diplomatic pressure was placed on Georgia from Brussels and domestic and international rights groups to shed light on the disappearance of the exiled investigative journalist. Mukhtarli was allegedly abducted on May 29 when he stepped outside his Tbilisi home to buy groceries. He resurfaced in an Azerbaijani jail the next day. He was reportedly investigating the business interests of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his family in Georgia.
The journalist and his family had been living in Georgia since 2015, where they fled to escape increased persecution and censorship at home. Azerbaijani authorities alleged that Mukhtarli crossed the border illegally with a large amount of undeclared cash and without documentation. Meanwhile, Mukhtarli via his lawyer alleged that he was abducted, beaten and transported across the border. The state of his health has reportedly worsened while in detention.
The case has sparked an outcry in Georgia, where protesters in early June accused authorities of complicity with the notoriously opaque regime of Aliyev. Mukhtarli alleges that he was abducted by Georgian security officers and handed over to Azerbaijani officials at the border.
Tbilisi has vowed to conduct an investigation into the case, but key evidence appears to be missing. For instance, a camera at the border checkpoint where Mukhtarli crossed, which could contain footage of events, is missing.
An Azerbaijani MP, Elman Nasirov, told the local language service of Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in June that the journalist was apprehended through a collaboration between the Azerbaijani and Georgian security forces. Georgia's intelligence agency vehemently denied his claims.
2.6 Georgia, Ukraine to coordinate efforts to join the EU
The Georgian and Ukrainian presidents agreed to join efforts in their pursuit of EU membership by signing a declaration of strategic partnership on July 18, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko was in Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia, for a state visit, where he met with his counterpart President Giorgi Margvelashvili. "We agreed to intensify our efforts in terms of integration into the European space," Margvelashvili told journalists during a press conference. Meanwhile, Poroshenko urged the international community to increase pressure on Russia to liberate the territories it occupied in 2014.
Tbilisi and Kyiv are united by their dislike of Russia, which has invaded both
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