France Rejects Georgian ex-Minister's Plea to Be Set Free

A French court on Thursday rejected a detained former Georgian defense minister's plea to be set free but did not rule on his extradition to his homeland, where he is wanted on corruption charges.

Davit Kezerashvili, a close ally of outgoing president Mikheil Saakashvili, was detained on October 14 at Nice airport following an international arrest warrant.

Kezerashvili, who also headed the financial police, was charged in January with taking a bribe of $12 million (nine million euros) to facilitate alcohol smuggling in the ex-Soviet nation.

After a court in the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence turned down a request for his release, Kezerashvili's lawyer Aurelien Hamelle said a fresh appeal would be filed later.

Hamelle said his client was the victim of a witch-hunt. A decision on an extradition request by Georgia will be taken in the coming weeks, a judicial source said.

The case against Kezerashvili was one of a string of investigations launched against Saakashvili allies after his party lost October 2012 parliamentary polls to a coalition headed by billionaire Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Giorgi Margvelashvili, an ally of Ivanishvili, was elected to replace Saakashvili on Sunday.