Elene Khoshtaria Goes On Hunger Strike as 'New Form of Struggle'
Opposition Droa party leader Elene Khoshtaria
announced
a hunger strike, saying it is a 'new form of struggle.'
'Now that the regime has launched a new attack and arrested practically all of the opposition, I want to declare a new form of struggle — one that is not emotional or thoughtless, but victory-oriented,' Khoshtaria told reporters as she was announcing her 'firm decision' in the evening of June 27 in front of the parliament building on Tbilisi's Rustaveli Avenue, the epicenter of ongoing non-stop anti-Georgian Dream protests.
She vowed not to leave Rustaveli Avenue, citing tragic reports of detained protesters losing family members while in custody. At least three inmates have lost parents since their arrest over protests that erupted after Georgian Dream's late-November announcement to halt EU accession. The most recent case is the death of the father of Onise Tskhadadze, a well-known comedian currently on trial for group violence.
'If you can't see the value of life, the value of freedom […] here's my life, here's my freedom too — and you still can't beat us,' Khoshtaria said, addressing the ruling Georgian Dream party. She went on to say in her 'statement to people' that the 'only way' is 'revolution and their overthrow from the street.'
'I can't tell anyone when to take to the streets, go on hunger strike, go to prison, or come out,' Khoshtaria said. 'I can only say this with my example: I am ready to sacrifice myself against the regime — and I will.'
Six people, including five active opposition leaders, have been sentenced to several months in prison in recent days for refusing to appear before the Tsulukiani Commission in the Georgian Dream parliament, which they consider illegitimate. Two more are awaiting final rulings while in pre-trial custody.
All three other leaders of the Coalition for Change, an election alliance formed ahead of the 2024 parliamentary vote, which includes Khoshtaria's Droa, are currently jailed: Zurab Japaridze from Girchi – More Freedom has been sentenced to seven months, Ahali's Nika Melia to eight months, while Nika Gvaramia, Ahali's other leader, currently remains in pretrial detention anticipating a similar sentence.
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Civil.ge
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Elene Khoshtaria Goes On Hunger Strike as 'New Form of Struggle'
Opposition Droa party leader Elene Khoshtaria announced a hunger strike, saying it is a 'new form of struggle.' 'Now that the regime has launched a new attack and arrested practically all of the opposition, I want to declare a new form of struggle — one that is not emotional or thoughtless, but victory-oriented,' Khoshtaria told reporters as she was announcing her 'firm decision' in the evening of June 27 in front of the parliament building on Tbilisi's Rustaveli Avenue, the epicenter of ongoing non-stop anti-Georgian Dream protests. She vowed not to leave Rustaveli Avenue, citing tragic reports of detained protesters losing family members while in custody. At least three inmates have lost parents since their arrest over protests that erupted after Georgian Dream's late-November announcement to halt EU accession. The most recent case is the death of the father of Onise Tskhadadze, a well-known comedian currently on trial for group violence. 'If you can't see the value of life, the value of freedom […] here's my life, here's my freedom too — and you still can't beat us,' Khoshtaria said, addressing the ruling Georgian Dream party. She went on to say in her 'statement to people' that the 'only way' is 'revolution and their overthrow from the street.' 'I can't tell anyone when to take to the streets, go on hunger strike, go to prison, or come out,' Khoshtaria said. 'I can only say this with my example: I am ready to sacrifice myself against the regime — and I will.' Six people, including five active opposition leaders, have been sentenced to several months in prison in recent days for refusing to appear before the Tsulukiani Commission in the Georgian Dream parliament, which they consider illegitimate. Two more are awaiting final rulings while in pre-trial custody. All three other leaders of the Coalition for Change, an election alliance formed ahead of the 2024 parliamentary vote, which includes Khoshtaria's Droa, are currently jailed: Zurab Japaridze from Girchi – More Freedom has been sentenced to seven months, Ahali's Nika Melia to eight months, while Nika Gvaramia, Ahali's other leader, currently remains in pretrial detention anticipating a similar sentence. Also Read:
OC Media
a day ago
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Two more Georgian politicians receive monthslong prison sentences
Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member Tbilisi City Court has jailed opposition leader Nika Melia and a retired opposition figure, GIvi Targamadze, for failing to appear before a parliamentary commission created to investigate the opposition. Nika Melia, the cofounder of the opposition Ahali party, was sentenced to eight months, while former United National Movement (UNM) MP Givi Targamadze received seven months. Both verdicts were announced a few hours apart on Friday. Melia was already in pretrial detention at the time of his sentencing for refusing to pay the bail set by the court in the same case. He did not attend Friday's court hearing. Targamadze, who paid his bail, had remained free until now. He also did not attend the hearing; instead, he went to the police station near his home, where he was handcuffed after the verdict was announced in the courtroom. 'We will inevitably win. In my view, it will happen sooner than I previously thought', added Targamadze as he arrived at the police station, describing the Georgian Dream government as an 'openly occupational regime'. Targamadze retired from politics in 2021, after having served as a UNM MP during its time in power and after Georgian Dream defeated them in 2012. He later joined European Georgia, a party that split off from the UNM, which he left in 2021. Targamadze has been wanted by Russia since 2013 on charges of attempting to organise mass unrest in Moscow. In October 2016, his car was blown up in central Tbilisi. Targamadze and his driver, who were there, survived. Later, the politician claimed that the explosives had been set jointly by Georgian and Russian security services. Georgia's Ministry of Internal Affairs only announced an arrest of a suspect linked to the bombing in 2024. On Friday, Targamadze suggested that his detention was 'an order of Russia'. A total of eight people have been detained for failing to appear before Georgian Dream's parliamentary commission, which targets the opposition. Of those, six have already been sentenced, while two — another leader of the Ahali party, Nika Gvaramia, and former Defence Minister Irakli Okruashvili — are in pretrial detention awaiting their verdicts. Before Targamadze and Melia, Giorgi Vashadze, leader of the Strategy Aghmashenebeli party, was sentenced to seven months on Tuesday. Previously, on Monday, the court sentenced Girchi — More Freedom leader Zurab Japaridze to seven months in prison on the same charges. Just a few hours later, Lelo leaders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze were given eight months each. The sentences also included a ban from holding public office for two years. Georgia's fifth president Salome Zourabichvili previously described the arrest of opposition politicians as a 'sign of weakness' from the government and the beginning of its end. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze once again attacked the opposition with conspiratorial rhetoric, referring to the detainees as 'agents' of the 'deep state'. The anti-UNM commission The commission was set up in February ostensibly to investigate the UNM's time in power, following repeated pledges by Georgian Dream to punish the formerly ruling party. Initially, its mandate was limited to the UNM's years in government (2003–2012), but it was later expanded to cover the period up to the present day — effectively giving Georgian Dream free reign to target virtually any opposition figure. Numerous opposition figures have boycotted the commission, refusing to recognise its legitimacy, as well as that of the current parliament, which has also been boycotted by major opposition parties following the disputed 2024 parliamentary elections. Criminal cases were launched against those who refused to attend the commission's hearings — if found guilty, those charged could be fined or sentenced to up to a year in prison. They could also be banned from holding public office or engaging in certain activities for up to three years. On Monday, during an interview with the pro-government TV channel Rustavi 2, the commission chair, Georgian Dream MP Tea Tsulukiani, did not rule out filing a second complaint against the detained opposition politicians. According to her, the commission has summoned Khazaradze and Gvaramia for questioning again, and if they do not participate from prison, 'it would probably come as no surprise to anyone if we are obliged to send this second failure-to-appear case back to the Prosecutor's Office'. Georgian Dream has openly declared that it intends to use the findings of the parliamentary commission to file a case with the Constitutional Court seeking to ban the country's main opposition parties — a promise the ruling party made to its voters ahead of the 2024 elections. The ruling party has maintained that all major opposition groups operating in the country are satellites of the UNM and should no longer be allowed to exist.
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Georgian Dream MP proposes harsher legislation for defamation
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member Georgian Dream has adopted new legislative amendments, including restrictions on freedom of speech, in their final reading. During the parliamentary discussion, ruling party MP Tea Tsulukiani called for an even harsher approach — adding defamation back to the criminal code. It took only two days for the parliament, fully controlled by Georgian Dream and its satellites, to vote on the amendments for three hearings by an accelerated procedure, with the final vote held on Thursday. The new legislation will shift the burden of proof in cases of defamation and libel from the plaintiff to the defendant. Moreover, Georgian Dream gave the bill a retroactive effect, meaning the legislation will also apply the statements made 100 days prior to its enactment. In addition to the amendments already adopted, Tsulukiani proposed during the second reading that defamation should be considered an aggravating circumstance under the criminal code. Tsulukiani, who chairs the parliamentary commission against the formerly ruling United National Movement (UNM) party, again attacked the UNM, stating that defamation was removed from the criminal code by then-President Mikheil Saakashvili after the 2003 Rose Revolution. 'It was not only needed to label people according to his [Saakashvili] considerations, but, for example, all those who were brutally killed [during the UNM period] were accompanied by defamation', she said. Davit Matikashvili, Chair of the Parliamentary Procedural Committee, responded to Tsulukiani, saying that 'We would be happy to consider [this proposal] with you, and if there is willingness, we can actively discuss it'. Advertisement Currently, defamation is regulated by the law on freedom of speech and expression — the very legislation that Georgian Dream amended on Thursday. Under the current law, defamation is handled as a civil dispute. If found liable, the defendant may be required to retract their statement or pay compensation for material or moral damages suffered by the claimant. In recent months, Georgian Dream has passed other laws that restrict forms of expression that had not previously been punishable. One such law prohibits insulting officeholders, under which numerous politicians, journalists, and activists have been penalised and some even imprisoned. Less media in courts, increased salary for judges Alongside the law on freedom of expression, Georgian Dream has also proposed amendments to the law on courts. The changes covered a range of issues, including strict new limitations on journalists' coverage of trials and an increase in judges' salaries. The now-passed amendments will prohibit filming inside court buildings — including courtrooms and hallways, as well as courtyards. The only exceptions will be for court employees or individuals authorised by the court. If a third party wishes to record video or audio of a court proceeding, they must obtain a permission from the High Council of Justice for each specific court session. Another amendment would toughen the provision regulating contempt of court. Under the current law, punishable acts of contempt include those committed by parties to the case, participants, or others present in the courtroom. Under the amendments initiated by the ruling party, such conduct would become punishable in any context, including outside the courtroom and in public spaces. The proposal also specifies that contempt will be punishable in 'any form', including 'verbal' expression. The ruling party introduced the legislative amendments in parallel with the court hearings of individuals detained during the ongoing anti-government protests. These proceedings are being widely covered by independent and government-critical media outlets and the decisions of the judges, widely considered by critics as politically motivated, often sparked public outrage. Among other changes, the amendments also increased judges' salaries so that each judge's monthly pay would exceed ₾10,000 ($3,700) per month — a salary that significantly exceeds the average monthly pay for most Georgians. The raise would also apply to judges under international sanctions for undermining the rule of law in Georgia and engaging in corruption.
