The Supreme Court of Israel refused entry visa for Georgian “thief-in-law"

The Supreme Court of Israel comprising judges Procaccia, Rubinstein and Jubran rejected appeal of Israeli citizen Marina Yakobashvili on the Ministry of Internal Affairs decision to refuse entry visa for her husband Zaal Makharoblidze, says IzRus.

The police intelligence department found out that citizen of Georgia Zaal Makharoblidze tried to obtain Israeli citizenship having married Marina Yakobashvili who had Israeli passport.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs submitted to the court irrefutable proof that Makharoblidze who now serves a 3-year sentence in Austrian prison is a threat to the state and tries to illegally enter the country.

According to the case materials Zaal Makharoblidze married Marina Yakobashvili in Austria in March 2007. A month later he was imprisoned in Austria under allegation on creation of a criminal group. In early 2008 Yakobashvili applied to the Israeli Ministry of Internal Affairs to grant entry visa to her husband under the repatriation law.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs investigation revealed that marriage of Makharoblidze and Yakobashvili was illegal, since at the time of marriage she was married to Merab Yakobashvili whom she divorced only in May 2008, 14 months after her “second marriage”.

According to Prime Crime News Agency a 41-year old Kutaisi-born Zaal Makharoblidze, known in criminal world as Glekhovich, is one of the most influential “thieves-in-law” in Western Europe. In 2006 Austrian Minister of Internal Affairs named Makharoblidze a “headache of Austrian police”. Even arrest of Glekhovich had little effect on his influence in the criminal world.

Makharoblidze’s efforts to settle in Israel is caused by his fear to be deported to Georgia. At his motherland he faces one more prison term for belonging to the “criminal world”.