Georgia issues first prison sentences for refusing to testify to parliamentary investigative commission

Tbilisi City Court has issued sentences to two opposition leaders – Zurab Girchi Japaridze (Coalition for Change, Girchi – More Freedom party) and Mamuka Khazaradze (Strong Georgia coalition, Lelo party). They were sentenced to seven and eight months in prison, respectively, for refusing to testify to the parliamentary investigative commission investigating the alleged crimes of the previous authorities.

These are the first sentences under this article, but they are obviously not the last. In particular, today the verdict will be announced against another leader of the Lelo party, Badri Japaridze. It is noteworthy that almost all opposition representatives refused to cooperate with the commission. Let us recall that the maximum penalty for “failure to comply with the legal demands of the temporary investigative commission of parliament” (Article 349 of the Criminal Code of Georgia) is imprisonment for up to one year.

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 investigative body is headed by Tea Tsulukiani, one of the veterans of the ruling party, former Minister of Justice, then Minister of Culture and Sports, and currently a member of parliament. 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 ban other political forces allegedly associated with the UNM.

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