EU urges impartiality after Georgia ex-PM's arrest

(BRUSSELS) - EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Wednesday called for fair and impartial treatment of Georgia's former prime minister Vano Merabishvili, arrested the previous day on corruption charges.

Ashton and the EU's enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele said they took "careful note" of the detention of the former premier and his onetime health minister Zurab Chiaberashvili, the most prominent arrests so far in a slew of investigations against top allies of embattled President Mikheil Saakashvili.

"The European Union will closely follow the legal proceedings against them, which it expects to be fair, transparent and independent, in full accordance with international standards," Ashton and Fuele said in a statement.

It urged the Georgian authorities to "pursue justice in these cases, as in all other cases, impartially and free from political motivation."

Prosecutors said Tuesday that Merabishvili and Chiaberashvili were being held in a case involving the alleged fictitious employment of party workers.

Merabishvili is considered to be Saakashvili's most prominent ally and in June 2012 was named as prime minister to improve his United National Movement (UNM) party's chances in parliamentary elections in October.

But the UNM lost the polls to the Georgia Dream coalition of businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili, who then became prime minister in a fractious cohabitation with Saakashvili.