Another sentence passed on an opposition politician in Georgia

On July 1, the Tbilisi City Court sentenced one of the leaders of the opposition party "Akhali" and the coalition "For Changes" Nika Gvaramia to eight months in prison for refusing to testify to the temporary investigative commission of parliament. Before the verdict, the politician was in custody after refusing to pay bail in the amount of 30,000 lari.

The maximum penalty for "failure to comply with the legal requirements of the temporary investigative commission of parliament" (Article 349 of the Criminal Code of Georgia) is imprisonment for up to one year. Cases under this article have been opened against about ten opposition representatives. Givi Targamadze (former member of the United National Movement), Nika Melia (Coalition for Change, Akhali), Zurab Japaridze (Coalition for Change, Girchi – More Freedom party), Giorgi Vashadze (Strategy Agmashenebeli), Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze (Strong Georgia coalition, Lelo party) have already received sentences of 7 to 8 months.

It is noteworthy that almost none of the opposition members agreed to cooperate with the investigative body. Thus, almost all the main opponents of the ruling party will remain without leaders at least until the end of the year. The trial of former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili will take place on July 4.

The temporary investigative commission was created by the 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 investigation will also cover alleged violations by the opposition up to the present day.

The commission must complete its work within six months. After that, the ruling party intends to send the financial report to the Constitutional Court to have the United National Movement declared unconstitutional. The Georgian Dream also states that it plans to seek a ban on other political forces allegedly linked to the UNM.

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