The Tbilisi City Court set bail at US$1,600 for four accused collaborators in the unlawful border crossing case of imprisoned ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili.

According to the case prosecutor, Levan Vepkhvadze, the defendants did not contest the prosecution's evidence and asked the court to change the pre-trial measure from incarceration to release on bond.

He stated that the four suspects' pre-trial incarceration was no longer essential since the new development eliminated the possibility of the defendants destroying evidence or intimidating witnesses.

The defendants are charged with concealing a severe crime without previous promise under Article 375 (2) of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in jail. Elguja Tsomaia, one of the suspects, is also charged under Article 344.1, which involves the illegal transfer of a migrant across the border and has a sentence of two to five years in jail.

According to the inquiry, Tsomaia carried Saakashvili from Poti port through customs clearance and then supplied him with an apartment in Tbilisi to hide. According to the prosecution, Shalva and Zurab Tsotsoria aided Saakashvili in traveling around Georgia's Samegrelo area, while Giorgi Narimanidze and Tsomiaia followed the ex-President on his way to Tbilisi.

Tsomaia was arrested on October 1, Shalva and Zurab Tsotsoria were arrested on October 3, and Narimanidze was arrested on October 20.

The Prosecutor's Office began criminal procedures against UNM-era Deputy Interior Minister Giorgi Lortkipanidze, who is now a Ukrainian citizen, on December 10. According to the prosecution, he was the one who orchestrated Saakashvili's illegal border crossing.

Mikheil Saakashvili, who returned to Georgia from exile in Ukraine on September 28-29 last year, was arrested on the eve of municipal elections on October 1. He was sentenced to six years in prison in absentia by three Georgian courts, including three years for pardoning police personnel accused in the high-profile Sandro Girgvliani murder case and six years for arranging an attack on opposition MP Valeri Gelashvili.

Apart from that, Saakashvili is facing charges of unlawful border crossing and exceeding official power during the November 7, 2007, crackdown on anti-government protesters and following events. He denies that the accusations levelled against him and states they are politically motivated.