"There are no objective witnesses in this case. All witnesses were interrogated a day before Okruashvili"s arrest, and all of them directly dependent on Gakharia," Murtaz Zodelava, a member of the United National Movement"s political council, said.

Zodelava has commented on the arrests since June 20 and says that the arrests of opposition party leaders have begun based on the instruction of Bidzina Ivanishvili.

He said Okruashvili"s detention was linked to his recent statements, including on the Rustavi 2 case. According to Zodelava, Okruashvili"s arrest was ordered by Ivanishvili after the former defence minister demanded the broadcasting company"s shares.

"In this case, we have a direct reference to Ivanishvili. I am deeply convinced that Ivanishvili issued an order to arrest Okruashvili the same day that Okruashvili spoke about Rustavi 2," Zodelava said.