Latest news with #NikaGvaramia
Al Jazeera
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Another opposition leader jailed in Georgia amid deepening crackdown
A court in Georgia has sentenced prominent opposition figure Nika Gvaramia to eight months in prison, amid a deepening crackdown on critics of the ruling Georgian Dream party. Gvaramia, the co-leader of the opposition Akhali party, was also barred from holding office for two years. The court imposed the sentence on Tuesday over his refusal to cooperate with a parliamentary commission tasked with investigating alleged wrongdoing under ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili, a pro-Western reformer currently serving a 12-and-a-half-year prison term. Several other leading opponents of Georgian Dream have been jailed on similar charges to Gvaramia, including Giorgi Vashadze, a former deputy justice minister, who received a seven-month prison sentence last week. The crackdown has led to growing accusations against the governing party that it is trampling on democracy amid continuing protests in the wake of last year's disputed elections. Speaking to the AFP news agency on Tuesday, Gvaramia's lawyer Dito Sadzaglishvili said the verdict against his client was 'unlawful' and 'part of the government's attempt to crush all dissent in Georgia'. Growing criticism The British government on Monday denounced the crackdown on opposition figures and summoned the country's charge d'affaires. 'The imprisonment of prominent opposition leaders is the latest attempt by the Georgian government to crack down on freedoms and stifle dissent,' the United Kingdom's Foreign Office said. 'The UK Government will not hesitate to consider further action should Georgia not return to respecting and upholding democracy, freedoms and human rights,' it added. The NGO Amnesty International also criticised the government, saying last week in reaction to Vashadze's sentencing that it had 'serious concerns over the misuse of legislative, policing and other powers to silence government critics in Georgia'. The human rights organisation specifically took aim at the parliamentary commission linked to the arrests of opposition figures. 'With its status disputed, the commission has been instrumentalised to target former public officials for their principled opposition,' said Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty's deputy director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. After Georgian Dream claimed victory in a contested election in October, the European Union candidate nation experienced mass protests. Critics accuse the government of undermining democracy and of bringing the country close to Moscow, allegations the governing party denies. The EU has said some 80 percent of the population supports Georgia's bid to join the bloc, a commitment enshrined in its constitution. Amid allegations of democratic backsliding, the United States and several European countries have sanctioned some Georgian government officials.
Arab News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Georgia jails another opposition figure in crackdown on dissent
TBILISI: Georgia on Tuesday jailed prominent opposition figure Nika Gvaramia for eight months, the latest in a wave of arrests targeting politicians, activists, and journalists critical of the ruling party. The EU candidate nation has been gripped by political unrest since the disputed parliamentary elections last October, when the ruling Georgian Dream party declared victory, sparking mass protests. Demonstrators accuse the ruling party, which shelved EU membership talks, of veering toward authoritarian rule and steering the country closer to Moscow — accusations the government rejects. On Tuesday, a Tbilisi court sentenced Gvaramia — the co-leader of the key opposition Akhali party — to eight months in prison and barred him from holding public office for two years, his lawyer Dito Sadzaglishvili told AFP. 'The verdict is unlawful and part of the government's attempt to crush all dissent in Georgia,' he said. Gvaramia was sentenced for refusing to cooperate with a parliamentary commission investigating alleged abuses under imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili. Nearly all of Georgia's opposition leaders have been jailed this month on similar charges. Saakashvili, a pro-Western reformer, is currently serving a 12-and-a-half-year prison term on charges widely denounced by rights groups as politically driven. Opposition figures have rejected the commission's legitimacy, accusing the ruling Georgian Dream party of using it as a tool to suppress dissent. Amnesty International said last week that the 'disputed' commission 'has been instrumentalized to target former public officials for their principled opposition.' Ahead of last year's elections, Georgian Dream announced plans to outlaw all major opposition parties. Brussels has said Georgia's democratic backsliding derails it from its longstanding EU membership bid enshrined in the country's constitution and supported — according to opinion polls — by some 80 percent of the population. The United States and several European countries have imposed sanctions on some Georgian Dream officials.
Civil.ge
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Civil.ge
Nika Gvaramia Sentenced to Eight Months in Prison for Defying Tsulukiani Commission
Tbilisi City Court Judge Jvebe Nachkebia on July 1 sentenced Nika Gvaramia, leader of the opposition Ahali party, to eight months in prison for refusing to appear before the Tsulukiani Commission – the Georgian Dream parliament's temporary investigative body, chaired by GD veteran Tea Tsulukiani and tasked with probing the alleged crimes committed by former officials. Nika Gvaramia has thus become the seventh person – and sixth opposition figure – sentenced to prison for defying the GD commission's summonses, following Nika Melia , Givi Targamadze , Giorgi Vashadze , Mamuka Khazaradze , Badri Japaradze , and Zurab Japaridze . Former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili remains in pretrial detention, anticipating a similar verdict. All who have received prison sentences have also had their right to hold office stripped for two years. Gvaramia, who has been in pretrial detention since June 16 after refusing to pay court-imposed bail, did not attend today's ruling, following others' examples from recent weeks. The ruling was delivered without media coverage, as new legislative changes passed last week by the GD parliament – banning journalists from filming, photographing, or live broadcasting from court premises without prior consent – have come into force. Nika Gvaramia served as Deputy Prosecutor General, Justice Minister, and Education Minister between 2007 and 2009 under the UNM government. From 2012 to 2019, he was director of the opposition-leaning Rustavi 2 channel. In 2022, Gvaramia was imprisoned after being found guilty of abuse of power related to Rustavi 2 management, but in June 2023, President Salome Zurabishvili pardoned him. After his release, Gvaramia entered politics in early 2024, co-founding the Ahali party with Nika Melia. The Ahali-led Coalition for Change won the majority of opposition votes in the 2024 parliamentary elections, which the opposition claims were rigged. The coalition then revoked their mandates, has boycotted the GD parliament since, and now strongly opposes participating in the local elections scheduled for October 2025. The Georgian Dream parliament's temporary investigative commission , chaired by GD veteran and former Justice and Culture Minister Tea Tsulukiani, was initially formed to probe alleged misconduct under the UNM government. Over time, however, it extended its scope to the present day, summoning GD critics, including some who had never been with the UNM. The opposition has refused to appear before the commission, refusing to cooperate with the one-party parliament they consider illegitimate. Former GD Interior Minister and Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, now the leader of the opposition For Georgia party, was the only exception who agreed to testify , while maintaining that his appearance did not amount to legitimizing the rump parliament, which his party has also been boycotting. Giorgi Gakharia has been resummoned by the commission over the Chorchana episode, which the Prosecutor's Office is investigating as 'sabotage.' Currently in Germany, Gakharia offered to testify remotely, to which the Tsulukiani Commission ultimately agreed. The session is scheduled for July 2. Gakharia's party member said his return to Georgia remains undecided due to 'many factors.' Alongside Gakharia, other opposition figures – Nika Gvaramia, Mamuka Khazaradze, and Giorgi Vashadze – were also summoned again, with their testimonies meant to be heard online from prison on June 30. However, they again defied the summonses and did not appear. The commission asked the Prosecutor's Office to open investigations into their renewed defiance. Non-compliance with the Georgian Parliament's temporary investigative commission is a criminal offense, punishable by a fine or up to one year in prison, alongside a ban on holding public office for up to three years. However, the court has not fined anyone and opted for prison sentences. The commission has addressed topics such as alleged human rights abuses, including in prisons and the alleged business racketeering under the UNM rule, as well as the August 2008 war, which it blames on the former administration and imprisoned ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili. It is also looking into activities from 2012 to 2025 that it claims undermined Georgia's foreign policy interests. On June 25, the GD parliament once again extended the commission's mandate until August 5. Tsulukiani, addressing the GD MPs at the plenary session, said the final report of the commission will be 'the gravest' in its assessments. Georgian Dream says that the commission's final report will be submitted to the country's Constitutional Court to ban the UNM and its 'successor parties.' Also Read:
Free Malaysia Today
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Georgia jails opposition leader as crackdown widens
Georgian opposition leader Nika Gvaramia is being held in custody for refusing to cooperate with a parliamentary inquiry. (AFP pic) TBILISI : A Georgian court on Friday ordered a key opposition figure be held in pre-trial detention, amid an escalating government crackdown on dissent in the Caucasus nation. 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.
The Star
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Georgia jails third opposition leader as crackdown expands
FILE PHOTO: Leader of the Coalition for Change party Nika Gvaramia, who was arrested amid Georgian opposition protests against the government's decision to suspend the European Union accession talks, reacts inside an enclosure for defendants during a court hearing in Tbilisi, Georgia December 6, 2024. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File photo TBILISI (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. (Reporting by Felix Light; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
