TBILISI, DFWatch — Ten of the intelligence officers who were detained Friday have been sentenced to preliminary detention by Tbilisi City Court and were denied bail.

November 15, eleven employees of the constitutional security department (CSD) of the interior ministry and a former deputy interior minister who is currently deputy mayor of Tbilisi were detained for abuse of powers and other crimes.

The deputy mayor and former deputy interior minister Shota Khizanishvili has been charged and will appear in court separately Saturday evening.

He is charged with abuse of powers, obtaining private information by use of technology, which is punishable with from two to five years in jail.

The other detainees were sentenced Saturday to preliminary detention. They are charged with illegal eavesdropping, making covert recordings by use of computer software and the use of material for political goals against opponents, using blackmailing and kidnapping.

The prosecutor’s office also published testimony in which people speak about the schemes in which these acts were committed.

Ten of the detainees are sentenced to 55-day preliminary detention. Under Georgian law, preliminary detention may be given for a maximum of 60 days.

The judge denied please by lawyers for the accused to release their clients on bail. The prosecutor’s office argued that there was a risk that the accused might leave the country or endanger the investigation if they were released.

Giorgi Kavlashvili, one of the accused, remarked at the hearing that the day of detention is given as November 15; however, they were all detained on November 14. Another accused confirmed this information.

The accused do not share the opinion of the prosecutor’s office, that if they were let out they might interrupt the investigation or leave the country. They remarked that they have already had two months to hide or leave.

Levan Kardava and Giorgi Kavlashvili at Saturday’s hearing stated that they knew about the possible detention a week ago, but they didn’t attempt to escape, but went about their work as usual.

The trial is scheduled for January 8, 2013.