Tblisi Court Opposition Diagram Nika Gvaramia will ban him from office for two years for eight months.
A Georgia court sentenced prominent opposition Diaz Nika Gvalamia to eight months in prison in deepening its crackdown on critics of the Arbitration Georgia Dream Party.
Gvalamia, co-leader of the opposition Ahari Party, was also banned from office for two years.
The court on Tuesday refusing to cooperate with a parliamentary committee tasked with investigating alleged misconduct under former president Mikeil Saakashvili, a western reformer who is now serving a 12.5-year prison term.
Other major opponents of Georgian dreams were jailed on charges similar to Gvalamia, including former deputy justice minister Giorgi Vaschatze, who was sentenced to seven months in prison last week.
The crackdown has led to growing accusations against the governing party of trampling on democracy amid continuing protests following last year’s conflict elections.
Speaking to AFP news agency on Tuesday, Gvaramia’s lawyer Dito Sadzaglishvili said that the verdict against his client was “illegal” and was “part of the government’s attempts to raise all the challenges in Georgia.”
Rising criticism
The British government on Monday condemned opposition crackdowns and summoned the country’s accusations.
“The imprisonment of prominent opposition leaders is the latest attempt by the Georgia government to crack down on freedoms and curb opposition,” the UK’s Foreign Office said.
“The UK government will not hesitate to consider further actions if Georgia does not return to respecting and supporting democracy, freedom and human rights,” he added.
Ngo Amnesty International also criticised the government and responded to Vashadze’s ruling last week, saying there are “severe concerns over the misuse of legislation, police and other powers to silence critics of the government in Georgia.”
Human rights groups specifically targeted parliamentary committees related to the arrest of opposition parties.
“Its status challenged, and the committee was instrumented to target it for the principled opposition of former civil servants,” said Dennis Krivoshev, Amnesty’s deputy director of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
European Union candidates experienced massive protests after Georgian Dream claimed victory in the contested election in October.
Critics have denounced the government’s government’s weakening democracy and bringing the country closer to Moscow.
The EU says that around 80% of the population supports Georgia’s bid to join the bloc, a constitutionally-enforced commitment.
Amid allegations of democratic reversal, the US and several European countries have approved some of the officials of the Georgia government.
