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Reuters
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Georgia jails third opposition leader as crackdown expands
TBILISI, June 13 (Reuters) - Georgian opposition politician Nika Gvaramia was placed in pre-trial detention on Friday for up to nine months, the latest of several prominent government critics to be jailed. Having weathered mass demonstrations over a disputed October election and a subsequent decision to halt talks on joining the European Union, Georgian authorities have moved to clamp down on leading figures of the protest movement. Gvaramia had refused to testify to a parliamentary commission investigating alleged wrongdoing under jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, who was in power from 2004 to 2012. If convicted of failing to comply with the commission, he could be jailed for up to one year. Gvaramia is a leader of the pro-Western Coalition for Change bloc which came second in the October election that the opposition rejected as fraudulent. The government rejected the allegation, but two U.S. polling organisations said there was evidence of manipulation. Gvaramia did not attend his court hearing, instead reporting to prison before the verdict was announced, in what his party said was an effort to show the decision was pre-determined by a biased court. In a post on Facebook, he wrote: "Not one step back! Our homeland is behind us! The oligarchy must fall! Glory to Georgia!" Two other Coalition for Change leaders, Zurab Japaridze and Nika Melia, are already in jail on similar charges. A media entrepreneur who served under Saakashvili in a series of ministerial roles, Gvaramia was previously imprisoned for abuse of office from 2022 to 2023, in a case Western countries said was politically motivated. Traditionally one of the Soviet Union's most pro-Western and democratic successor states, Georgia has moved in a sharply authoritarian direction in the past two years, with the ruling Georgian Dream party passing a series of laws critics have described as draconian. Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire ex-prime minister widely seen as the country's most powerful man, has repeatedly pledged to ban opposition parties, whilst also presiding over warming ties with Russia and souring relations with the West. Earlier this week, authorities issued court summons to over a dozen activists, journalists and opposition politicians on charges of insulting ruling party lawmakers. On Thursday, a court jailed a 21-year-old protester for four and a half years for assaulting police, in a case government critics have said is fabricated.
Washington Post
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Georgia detains second opposition leader within days as ruling party faces more protests
TBILISI, Georgia — Georgian police on Friday detained a second opposition leader within days as protests continue in the South Caucasus country against the ruling Georgian Dream party. Lawyers for Nika Melia, one of the figureheads for Georgia's pro-Western Coalition for Change, said his car was stopped by police on Thursday. Soon after, he was bundled away by a large group of people in civilian clothing.
Reuters
30-05-2025
- General
- Reuters
Second Georgian opposition leader placed in pre-trial detention as crackdown widens
TBILISI, May 30 (Reuters) - A Georgian court on Friday placed Nika Melia, a leader of the country's main opposition party, in pre-trial detention, amid a widening crackdown against a pro-Western opposition that has staged months of anti-government protests. Melia, a top leader of the Coalition for Change opposition bloc, was detained on Thursday for refusing to appear at a parliamentary inquiry into alleged crimes committed under jailed former President Mikheil Saakashvili between 2004 and 2012. The length of the detention was not immediately clear. Last week, a judge placed another leader of the Coalition for Change, Zurab Japaridze, in pre-trial detention for refusing to appear before the inquiry. Friday's hearing was disorderly, with Melia sentenced after being removed from the courtroom for throwing water at the judge from the dock. Previously one of the most pro-Western and democratic of the Soviet Union's successor states, Georgia under the leadership of the Georgian Dream party is accused by the ruling bloc's critics of moving in an authoritarian and pro-Russian direction. Georgian Dream says it still wants the country to eventually join the European Union but wants to preserve what it calls Georgia's traditional values and also to avoid conflict with Russia, its giant neighbour and former imperial ruler. Separately on Friday, another judge jailed a 19-year-old student activist for 12 days for insulting a Georgian Dream lawmaker she had called a "Russian slave" in a cafe this month. Georgian Dream, after winning an election last November that the opposition says was rigged, said it would halt talks on joining the EU till 2028. EU membership has wide support among Georgians and the goal has been enshrined in the constitution. The ruling party's decision to suspend the talks sparked mass street protests, prompting a violent crackdown and large-scale arrests by security forces. Georgian Dream is dominated by billionaire ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is widely seen as Georgia's de facto leader. In December, the United States sanctioned Ivanishvili for what it said were actions aimed at dismantling Georgian democracy for the benefit of Russia.
Reuters
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Georgian court places opposition leader in pre-trial detention for contempt of parliament
TBILISI, May 22 (Reuters) - A Georgian court on Thursday placed Zurab Japaridze, one of the leaders of the country's largest opposition party, in pre-trial detention, as the government clamps down on dissent after major protests last year. It was not clear for how long he had been put into custody, according to Georgia's Interpress news agency. Japaridze, a prominent leader of the Coalition for Change, which came second in last year's parliamentary election, had refused to appear at a parliamentary inquiry into alleged crimes committed under jailed former President Mikheil Saakashvili, between 2004 and 2012. Japaridze had been held in contempt by parliament, and refused to pay bail in order to avoid jail. He and other opposition figures say the inquiry is an illegitimate propaganda exercise by the ruling Georgian Dream party. A baseball cap-wearing libertarian with a following among younger Georgians, Japaridze has been among the most prominent figures at street protests since last year. He has said he carried a gun until his license to do so was revoked by a court amid last year's protests. The ruling came amid a large police presence outside the court building, alongside a protest of opposition supporters. Georgian Dream's powerful founder, billionaire ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has in recent months repeatedly pledged to ban opposition parties for what he says are their links to Saakashvili, who remains deeply divisive among Georgians. Previously one of the most pro-Western and democratic of the Soviet Union's successor states, critics of the Georgian government say the country has in recent years moved in an authoritarian and pro-Russian direction. In November, shortly after a parliamentary election the opposition said was falsified, the ruling party said it would halt European Union accession talks until 2028, abruptly freezing a long-standing and popular national goal that is written into Georgia's constitution. Georgian Dream says it still wants to eventually join the EU, but also wants balanced relations with Russia, which ruled Georgia for around 200 years until 1991. It says the October election, in which it gained a majority of seats in parliament, was free and fair. Georgia and Russia have had no formal diplomatic relations since 2008, when Tbilisi was defeated in the latest in a series of wars with two Russian-backed breakaway provinces.
