Latest news with #MikheilSaakashvili
Straits Times
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Second Georgian opposition politician detained, his party says
Nika Melia, leader of Georgia's largest opposition party United National Movement (UNM), speaks during a rally in support of jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, in Tbilisi, Georgia November 19, 2021. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo Police in Georgia have detained an opposition politician, his party said on Thursday, the second such detention in a little more than a week of figures denouncing government policies bringing the country closer to Russia. The Coalition for Change, Georgia's largest opposition group, said one of its leaders, Nika Melia, had been detained. News reports said he was being held on charges of abusive behaviour towards a law enforcement officer and would be appearing in court. 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 its opponents of moving in an authoritarian and pro-Russian direction. Last week, a Georgian court on Thursday placed Zurab Japaridze, another leader of the Coalition for Change, in pre-trial detention for an indeterminate period of time. Japaridze had refused to appear at a parliamentary inquiry into alleged crimes committed under jailed former President Mikheil Saakashvili, between 2004 and 2012. Georgian Dream, after winning an election last November denounced as rigged by the opposition, said it would halt talks on joining the European Union until 2028. Membership of the 27-nation bloc is a popular goal among Georgians and incorporated in the constitution. Georgian Dream dismisses allegations that the November poll was falsified. The outcome triggered large-scale protests, with protesters confronting police and water cannon in the capital. 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. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Court rules to arrest Georgian opposition leader as anti-government protests continue
A court in Georgia ordered opposition party leader Zurab Japaridze detained Thursday on charges of failing to appear before a parliamentary inquiry as protests continued against the ruling Georgian Dream party. Demonstrators waving Georgian and European Union flags blocked the central thoroughfare in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, demanding new elections and the release of dissidents. Demonstrators have gathered there each night since Nov. 28, when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze halted the country's EU integration process. Ahead of Japaridze's hearing Thursday at a courthouse in Tbilisi, police surrounded the facility to prevent his supporters from entering. Only a handful of people were allowed into the cramped hearing room, angering his supporters. Two people were arrested, and Japaridze's lawyers left in protest following a failed motion to move the proceedings to a larger room. Japaridze, who heads the Girchi - More Freedom party, was detained after refusing to appear before a parliamentary commission investigating alleged wrongdoings by the government of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. Opposition politicians have declined to attend the commission hearings, saying they are politically motivated by Georgian Dream to damage the opposition, particularly Saakashvili's United National Movement party. Speaking to reporters before the hearing, Japaridze said he knew that he would be arrested but that he did not recognize the legitimacy of Georgia's current parliament or its commission. 'The regime is trying to kill the civil society,' Japaridze said. 'They're killing the opposition parties and this is just one example of what they are doing now.' 'We have to continue the fight; we have to go out to the streets. We will win this battle only from the street, because there are no democratic institutions holding elections in this country anymore.' Japaridze and six other opposition leaders who did not attend the commission are expected to appear before a court in coming days. If found guilty of failure to comply with a parliamentary investigative commission, they face up to a year imprisonment. Political unrest Georgia has seen widespread political unrest since the country's last parliamentary election on Oct. 26, which was won by Georgian Dream. Protestors and the country's opposition declared the result as illegitimate amid allegations of vote-rigging helped by Russia, sparking weeks of protests across the country. At the time, opposition leaders vowed to boycott sessions of parliament until a new parliamentary election was held under international supervision and alleged ballot irregularities were investigated. Georgian Dream has seen widespread condemnation by European leaders and international rights groups over its rough handling of protestors and perceived democratic backsliding. When asked whether the United States would 'impose real cost on the anti-American Georgian dream on behalf of the people of Georgia' at a U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio replied: 'Is it in our national interest to have an anti-American government governing an important part of the world? And if not, we'll take appropriate actions to impose costs on that government.'
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Court rules to arrest Georgian opposition leader as anti-government protests continue
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — A court in Georgia ordered opposition party leader Zurab Japaridze detained Thursday on charges of failing to appear before a parliamentary inquiry as protests continued against the ruling Georgian Dream party. Demonstrators waving Georgian and European Union flags blocked the central thoroughfare in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, demanding new elections and the release of dissidents. Demonstrators have gathered there each night since Nov. 28, when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze halted the country's EU integration process. Ahead of Japaridze's hearing Thursday at a courthouse in Tbilisi, police surrounded the facility to prevent his supporters from entering. Only a handful of people were allowed into the cramped hearing room, angering his supporters. Two people were arrested, and Japaridze's lawyers left in protest following a failed motion to move the proceedings to a larger room. Japaridze, who heads the Girchi - More Freedom party, was detained after refusing to appear before a parliamentary commission investigating alleged wrongdoings by the government of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. Opposition politicians have declined to attend the commission hearings, saying they are politically motivated by Georgian Dream to damage the opposition, particularly Saakashvili's United National Movement party. Speaking to reporters before the hearing, Japaridze said he knew that he would be arrested but that he did not recognize the legitimacy of Georgia's current parliament or its commission. 'The regime is trying to kill the civil society,' Japaridze said. 'They're killing the opposition parties and this is just one example of what they are doing now.' 'We have to continue the fight; we have to go out to the streets. We will win this battle only from the street, because there are no democratic institutions holding elections in this country anymore.' Japaridze and six other opposition leaders who did not attend the commission are expected to appear before a court in coming days. If found guilty of failure to comply with a parliamentary investigative commission, they face up to a year imprisonment. Political unrest Georgia has seen widespread political unrest since the country's last parliamentary election on Oct. 26, which was won by Georgian Dream. Protestors and the country's opposition declared the result as illegitimate amid allegations of vote-rigging helped by Russia, sparking weeks of protests across the country. At the time, opposition leaders vowed to boycott sessions of parliament until a new parliamentary election was held under international supervision and alleged ballot irregularities were investigated. Georgian Dream has seen widespread condemnation by European leaders and international rights groups over its rough handling of protestors and perceived democratic backsliding. When asked whether the United States would 'impose real cost on the anti-American Georgian dream on behalf of the people of Georgia' at a U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio replied: 'Is it in our national interest to have an anti-American government governing an important part of the world? And if not, we'll take appropriate actions to impose costs on that government.'
Euronews
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Georgia ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili handed second prison sentence
A Georgian court sentenced former President Mikheil Saakashvili to another prison term on Monday, extending his imprisonment time to 12 and a half years. Saakashvili, who served as Georgia's president from 2004-2013, had previously been sentenced on charges of abuse of power and embezzlement that he and his defence have rejected as politically motivated. Judge Badri Kochlamazashvili sentenced the 57-year-old ex-president to an extra four years and six months on charges of illegal border crossing, adding time to his existing sentence. Speaking by videoconference, Saakashvili dismissed the verdict as an 'absolutely illegal, unjust sentencing of me for crimes I have not committed.' 'They want to annihilate me in prison,' he said. "But no matter what, I will fight till the end,' he vowed. According to his lawyer, Beka Basilaia, Monday's verdict "again showed that Saakashvili is a political prisoner." Saakashvili is also accused of repressing demonstrators who claimed that his fervour had turned into dictatorship. The former president, who led the country in a more pro-Western direction, led the so-called Rose Revolution protests in 2003 that drove his predecessor out of office and enacted a series of ambitious reforms tackling official corruption. In 2008, he oversaw a brief but intense war with Russia that ended with the humiliating loss of the remaining Georgian bases in two separatist territories. His reign was brought to an end in the 2012 election when the then newly formed Georgian Dream Party defeated Saakashvili's United National Movement party. Saakashvili left for Ukraine in 2013 and became a citizen. From 2015 to 2016, he governed the southern Odesa region. However, he was swiftly detained when he returned to Georgia in October 2021 in an attempt to strengthen opposition forces before the national municipal elections. Saakashvili's lawyer on Monday accused the ruling Georgian Dream of influencing the latest extension of the ex-Georgian leader's prison term. "As long as Georgian Dream remains in power, the judiciary is a farce and will make whatever decision it is instructed to,' Basilaia said. Since 2012, when Saakashvili was ousted from office, the Georgian Dream Party has remained in power and itself has recently been facing criticisms and popular protests on allegations of a crackdown on democratic freedoms. The party is also accused of steering the country away from the path toward European Union membership and back into Russia's sphere of influence. After going on multiple hunger strikes, Saakashvili is currently being treated at the Vivamedi facility, where he is being monitored for a number of chronic illnesses, according to the clinic.
The Hill
17-03-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Georgia ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili's prison terms now total over 12 years after latest verdict
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — A court in Georgia on Monday handed another prison sentence to former President Mikheil Saakashvili, extending his total imprisonment to 12½ years, in a verdict that he denounced as illegal. Saakashvili, who served as Georgia's president from 2004-2013, had previously been sentenced on charges of abuse of power and embezzlement that he and his defense have rejected as politically motivated. On Monday, the court sentenced him to four years and six months on charges of illegal border crossing. With his previous sentences accumulated, he now has to serve 12 years and six months behind bars. Saakashvili, speaking by videoconference, dismissed Monday's verdict as an 'absolutely illegal, unjust sentencing of me for crimes I have not committed.' 'They want to annihilate me in prison,' he said. 'But no matter what, I will fight till the end.' Saakashvili, who led the so-called Rose Revolution protests in 2003 that drove his predecessor out of office, enacted a serious of ambitious reforms tacking official corruption as president of the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million. He also presided over a short but fierce war with Russia in 2008 that ended with the humiliating loss of its last footholds in two separatist territories, and he cracked down on protesters who charged that his zeal had mutated into autocracy. In 2012, Saakashvili's United National Movement party lost the election to the Georgian Dream party established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia. Georgian Dream has remained in power ever since, tightening its grip on democratic freedoms and drawing accusations from the opposition of steering the country away from the path toward European Union membership and back into Russia's sphere of influence. Saakashvili left for Ukraine in 2013, obtained Ukrainian citizenship and served as a governor of the country's southern Odesa region from 2015-16. He returned to Georgia in October 2021 to try to bolster opposition forces before nationwide municipal elections and was quickly arrested. The former president spent much of his time behind bars in a prison hospital after going on a hunger strikes and later claiming that he had been poisoned. He is currently receiving medical treatment at the Vivamedi Clinic, where he is being monitored for several chronic conditions, and his health reportedly worsens periodically, according to the clinic. Saakashvili's lawyer, Beka Basilaia, said that Monday's verdict again showed that Saakashvili is a political prisoner. 'As long as Georgian Dream remains in power, the judiciary is a farce and will make whatever decision it is instructed to,' Basilaia said.
