Tbilisi City Court Judge Nino Galustashvili sentenced Giorgi Vashadze, leader of the opposition Strategy Aghmashenebeli party, to seven months in prison for refusing to appear before the Georgian Dream parliamentary investigative commission.
With the June 24 ruling, Giorgi Vashadze joined the list of other imprisoned opposition leaders, including Zurab Japaridze of Girchi–More Freedom and Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze of Lelo, who all received prison sentences the previous day.
All four were also stripped of their right to hold office for two years.
Vashadze served as deputy justice minister under former President Mikheil Saakashvili in 2012 and was a United National Movement (UNM) MP from 2012 to 2016. In 2016, he founded Strategy Aghmashenebeli, which ran with the UNM in a coalition for the October 2024 parliamentary elections.
Vashadze, like the other opposition figures, did not attend the reading of the verdicts, viewing the cases as politically motivated. His arrest was made in the Strategy Aghmashenebeli office, where the other opposition members and Georgia’s fifth President, Salome Zurabishvili, were gathered in solidarity.
Opposition figures have refused to comply with the GD parliamentary commission, which is tasked with investigating the alleged crimes of the former UNM government and other officials. The opposition considers the commission and the GD parliament, which was formed after the disputed October 26, 2024, elections, illegitimate.
Of the eight individuals who refused to comply with the GD commission’s summonses, four still await final rulings and are expected to receive similar prison sentences, although the law also allows for a fine. Two – Nika Melia and Nika Gvaramia of the Ahali party – are in pretrial detention after refusing to pay court-imposed bail, as did Zurab Japaridze. Former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili also remains in custody after rejecting bail. Givi Targamadze of the UNM is currently free on bail.
Noncompliance with the Georgian Parliament’s temporary investigative commission is a criminal offense punishable by up to one year in prison or a fine, along with a ban on holding public office for up to three years. So far, however, courts have issued only prison sentences and no fines.
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, speaking to journalists after the first prison sentence was announced yesterday, implied that anyone defying the GD parliament would be imprisoned. “They do not recognize [the GD parliament] — they will go to jail,” he said, making no mention of fines as an alternative penalty.
Reacting to the prison sentences, MEP Rasa Juknevičienė wrote on X, “Does anyone in the EU still doubt that Georgian Dream has chosen the path of dictatorship?” urging the EU Council to impose sanctions “against the regime.”
Controversial Commission
The Georgian Dream parliament’s temporary investigative commission, chaired by GD veteran and former justice and culture minister Tea Tsulukiani, is tasked with probing alleged crimes committed by officials from the United National Movement (UNM). The commission has summoned both alleged victims and former officials, including current opposition leaders, most of whom have refused to appear, considering the one-party parliament illegitimate.
Former Georgian Dream Interior Minister and Prime Minister, now opposition For Georgia party leader Giorgi Gakharia, is the only exception who agreed to testify before the commission. He maintained that his compliance did not amount to recognizing the Georgian Dream parliament, which his party continues to boycott.
Gakharia was recently summoned again over the Chorchana episode, which the Prosecutor’s Office is investigating under “sabotage” charges. Gakharia offered to appear online, citing a visit abroad. The commission declined a remote hearing and scheduled an in-person session for July 2, but Gakharia’s party says he will still be abroad on that date.
Two others – Nika Gvaramia and Mamuka Khazaradze – who previously refused to appear, were also resummoned. Both vowed to continue boycotting the GD commission from behind bars. Chair Tea Tsulukiani suggested the commission will likely ask the Prosecutor’s Office again to investigate their renewed non-compliance.
“If Gvaramia or Khazaradze does not join the commission remotely from their cells, it will not be surprising to anyone that we will probably have to send their second case of non-appearance to the Prosecutor’s Office,” Tsulukiani said in a June 23 interview with the pro-government channel Rustavi 2.
The commission is addressing topics including alleged torture, business racketeering, and the August 2008 war, which it blames on the former UNM government and ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Georgian Dream says the commission’s final report will be submitted to the country’s Constitutional Court to ban the UNM and its “successor parties.” GD says it plans to ban the opposition by the end of the year.
source: civil.ge
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