TBILISI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- A court in Georgia Wednesday ordered a pre-trial detention of the country's former prime minister on charges of embezzlement and abuse of office.
A judge in the second largest city of Kutaisi ruled in favor of the prosecution's motion, which argued that once freed, Vano Merabishvili would flee the country and resort to his influence to hamper ongoing investigations.
Meanwhile, former health minister Zurab Chiaberashvili, who was detained along with Merabishvili, was ordered to be released on a bail of 20,000 Georgian laris (12,345 U.S. dollars).
Merabishvili, secretary-general of the former ruling and now opposition United National Movement party, was accused of funnelling 5.2 million laris (3.2 million dollars) into the party's parliamentary election campaigns and appropriating a private property through intimidation.
Both men denied charges during Wednesday's initial hearing.
Outside the courtroom, there were two separate rallies - one by United National Movement members supporting the accused, and the other by various groups demanding they receive legal punishment.
The duo were first interrogated in February and detained Wednesday after the hearing.
The next court hearing was set for July 15.
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