After the decision of the Grand Chamber of the Strasbourg Court on Vano Merabishvili"s case, the Georgian authorities and the opposition have different positions. After the decision of the European Court, members of "National Movement" demand Vano Merabishvili"s immediate release.

The verdict of the European Court for Otar Kakhidze, a member of "European Georgia, was not surprising Merabishvili"s lawyer states that the fact that the Grand Chamber left in force the decision of the section of the European Court about the violation of Article 18 of the European Convention, which means that the detention of Vano Merabishvili, besides legitimate grounds, had other motives.

The Justice Minister has different opinion on the decision of the European Court of Justice. Tea Tsulukiani is convinced that Merabishvili will remain in prison.

The Strasbourg Court started discussing the case of Vano Merabishvili about a year ago. The former prime minister"s lawyers questioned the legitimacy of his imprisonment and named Vano Merabishvili"s withdrawal from the cell as the main argument of his political persecution.