Georgia has imprisoned 4 key figures of the opposition in a number of days as a part of a repression of a month on the dissent which adopted a controversial election final October within the nation of the southern Caucasus.
Almost all of the leaders of the pro-western opposition of Georgia at the moment are behind the bars, whereas the protests proceed towards the Georgian dream social gathering in energy and his resolution of final 12 months to cease the supply of Georgia to hitch the European Union.
The demonstrators, who gathered day by day within the capital Tbilisi, additionally affirm that the vote of 26 October which delivered to the Georgian dream social gathering in energy one other mandate to energy was not free or truthful.
Tuesday, the politician Giorgi Vashadze of the AGMASHENEBELI social gathering was sentenced to eight months of jail for refusing to testify in an official probe that the critics of the Georgian dream name an act of political revenge.
The day earlier than, three different opposition figures have been devoted to comparable phrases after refusing to collaborate with the identical parliamentary investigation that investigated alleged offenses by the federal government of the previous president Mikhail Saakashvili.
Badri Japaridze and Manuka Khazaradze have been each imprisoned for eight months, whereas Zurab Japaridze obtained seven months.
General Secretary General Kakha Kaladze rejected the accusations in line with which any of the arrests had been politically motivated, saying that politicians should not exempt from legislation.
“I believe everyone knows very nicely as a result of these individuals are held. They broke the legislation, they didn’t seem to the fee. The standing of a politician or another individual can’t be an incentive to interrupt the legislation,” he mentioned.
Opposition politicians refused to attend the Commission’s auditions, citing their boycott below Parliament after final 12 months’s elections.
Georgian Dream’s critics say that the vote was made up with the assistance of Russia to ship one other time period to energy.
They additionally say that the probe is a stratagem of the social gathering to energy to wreck the opposition, specifically the social gathering of the United National Movement of Saakashvili.
Speaking with the Associated Press earlier than being handcuffed Tuesday, Vashadze mentioned that the listening to auditions went “towards the Georgian Constitution” as a result of opposition legislators should not represented and that the target of the probe is to persecute the opposition.
“They are afraid of us as a result of we’re combating for our nation and see that there’s nice assist from the Georgian society … that is why I’m now arrested,” he mentioned.
Other essential authorities critics stay in preliminary detention for the refusal to look earlier than the fee investigating Saakashvili.
They embody Nika Melia, former president of the United National Movement Party of Saakashvili, and Nika Gvaramia, who was the Minister of the Government of Saakashvili. Even a former protection minister, Irakli Okruashvili, is in custody.
Melia, Gvaramia and Zurab Japaridze have been among the many leaders of the grouping of the opposition, Coalition for Change, which arrived second within the October vote, in line with the official outcomes.
On Monday, the Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze additionally denied that their arrests have been politically motivated.
In the meantime, anti -government protests proceed day by day in central tbit. While the numbers are a lot decrease than final autumn, the demonstrations are massive sufficient to dam the site visitors across the Parliament constructing.
Many demonstrators have worn masks for the reason that authorities has imposed onerous sanctions to dam the roads.
Elene Khoshrila, one other essential opposition politician, on Tuesday he slammed the Georgian dream for having used “violence, repressions, political persecution” for snuff and “European future” of Georgia.
He praised the demonstrators for his or her persistence and invited western international locations to present stronger assist to the critics of the Georgian dream.
“We are all solidarity with all our buddies and political prisoners,” he mentioned, referring to these imprisoned or detained in current weeks. “As lengthy as Georgia fights, I believe our worldwide companions ought to act in a really decisive and daring approach.”
