Georgia jails opposition leader as crackdown widens
Georgia has been in political turmoil since the ruling party won parliamentary elections last October – results disputed by the opposition and that sparked mass protests which only intensified after the government shelved EU membership talks.
Demonstrators accuse the Georgian Dream party of sliding into authoritarianism and shifting the country closer to Moscow – accusations it denies.
A court in the capital Tbilisi ruled Nika Gvaramia, leader of the opposition Ahali party, be held in custody after he refused to post bail over charges of refusing to cooperate with a parliamentary inquiry.
Gvaramia, who was not present in court, told reporters the case against him had been 'fabricated'.
'We are fighting against Russia. This is a situation where we must be ready for anything,' he said on the way to a penitentiary facility after the verdict was delivered.
He faces up to one year in prison for refusing to appear before a commission investigating alleged abuses during the decade-long presidency of reformist leader Mikheil Saakashvili.
Most opposition leaders have refused to cooperate with it, painting the investigation as part of a broader initiative to outlaw major opposition parties.
Saakashvili has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison on various charges.
Gvaramia has also already spent years in prison under the Georgian Dream government on charges that rights groups denounced as politically motivated.
A former journalist, he was awarded the 2023 International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists for his 'significant contributions to promoting freedom of speech and democratic ideals'.
His detention follows a wave of arrests and trials targeting opposition leaders and activists, with more verdicts expected in the coming weeks.
On Thursday, thousands took to the streets in Tbilisi after 21-year-old pro-Europe activist Mate Devidze was jailed for four and a half years.
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