The leader of the Georgian opposition party "Akhaly" Nika Gvaramiya came to yesterday's session of the Tbilisi City Court with popcorn. The trial began in the case of his refusal to give evidence to the temporary investigative commission of the parliament investigating the activities of the United National Movement.
The judge concluded that the accused was being mocked and called him to order. In response, Gvaramiya said that he had diabetes and needed to eat. After that, the judge was forced to announce a break "for lunch", after which the Gvaramis appointed a preventive measure - bail in the amount of 30 thousand GEL.
The defendant is incriminated under article 349 of the Criminal Code of Georgia - "failure to comply with the legal requirements of the temporary investigative commission of the parliament." The maximum penalty for this offense is imprisonment for up to a year.
Gvaramiya considers the charges absurd, and the commission itself, with which he refused to cooperate, is illegal.
Nika Gvaramiya held the post of Minister of Justice, as well as Minister of Science and Education of Georgia during the reign of Mikheil Saakashvili. The commission was going to ask him about the situation in the spheres of defense, security and protection of human rights in the country in 2004-2012.
Due to the non-appearance of the investigative commission, criminal cases were also opened against the founders of the opposition party "Lelo" Mamuka Khazaradze and Badra Japaridze, former Minister of Defense of Georgia Irakli Okruashvili, ex-deputy of parliament and in the past one of the leaders of "National Movement" Hyva Targamadze.
The temporary investigative commission was created by "Georgian Dream" in February of this year. Initially, it was supposed to focus only on the period of Mikheil Saakashvili's rule (2003–2012), but in March its powers were expanded: now the alleged violations of the opposition up to the present time are also subject to investigation.
The investigative body must complete its work in six months. After that, the ruling party intends to send the financial report to the Constitutional Court in order to have the "United National Movement" declared unconstitutional.
