Georgian authorities have jailed opposition leaders Zurab Japaridze and Mamuka Khazardze for seven and eight months respectively, for failing to appear before Georgian Dream’s parliamentary commission investigating the opposition.
Japaridze, who leads the Girchi — More Freedom party and Khazardze, the leader of Lelo, were sentenced by Tbilisi City Court on Monday. The two were also barred from holding public office for two years.
Japaridze and Khazaradze are the first to be sentenced amongst several opposition politicians facing criminal charges on the same grounds. Three other politicians — Nika Melia, Nika Gvaramia, and Irakli Okruashvili — remain in pre-trial detention, while another two, Badri Japaridze and Giorgi Vashadze, are out on bail.
Girchi — More Freedom dismissed the verdict, calling the trial a ‘circus that’s being called a court’.
Japaridze was first detained on 23 May after refusing to pay bail for failing to appear before a Georgian Dream parliamentary commission investigating the opposition.
The commission was set up in February ostensibly to investigate the United National Movement’s (UNM) time in power, following repeated pledges by Georgian Dream to punish the formerly ruling party.
Initially, its mandate was limited to the UNM’s years in government (2003–2012), but it was later expanded to cover the period up to the present day — effectively giving Georgian Dream free reign to target virtually any opposition figure.
Like Japaridze, numerous other opposition figures have also boycotted the commission, refusing to recognise its legitimacy, as well as that of the current parliament, which has also been boycotted by major opposition parties following the disputed 2024 parliamentary elections.
Criminal cases were launched against those who refused to attend the commission’s hearings, and if found guilty, those charged could be fined or sentenced to up to a year in prison. They would also be banned from holding public office or engaging in certain activities for up to three years.
Two other opposition representatives, the leaders of the Ahali party, Melia and Gvaramia, have also been detained for refusing to pay bail for not appearing before the commission, but have yet to be sentenced. Former Defence Minister Okruashvili was also detained on similar charges.
Georgian Dream has openly declared that it intends to use the findings of the parliamentary commission to file a case with the Constitutional Court seeking to ban the country’s main opposition parties — a promise the ruling party made to its voters ahead of the 2024 elections.
The ruling party maintained that all major opposition groups operating in the country are satellites of the UNM and should no longer be allowed to exist.
This story is developing and will be updated.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
