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Gvaramia Urges TI Georgia to Add Saakashvili to Political Prisoners List
Coalition for Change leader Nika Gvaramia has criticized Transparency International Georgia for excluding former President Mikheil Saakashvili from its updated list of political prisoners, calling the omission unjustified.
In a Facebook post, Gvaramia praised the organization's work and described it as a "fearless and tireless defender" of Georgia's interests. However, he said there was "no justification, and there can be none, for not including Misha Saakashvili on the list of political prisoners."
"I believe it is a serious mistake and hope it will be corrected," he wrote.
Gvaramia's comments came after Transparency International Georgia published an updated report identifying 91 political prisoners in the country. The organization said all those included meet the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's criteria for political prisoners. The list covers convicted and accused individuals who are currently in detention.
Judge Denies Western Diplomats Access to 'Sabotage Case' Hearings
Tbilisi City Court Judge Tamar Makharoblidze has rejected a request from several Western diplomatic missions to allow embassy representatives to attend hearings in the so-called "sabotage case" as observers.
The request was submitted by the embassies of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Poland, as well as the European Union Delegation to Georgia. In a joint letter, the diplomatic missions said the case has attracted significant attention in Georgia and abroad and argued that allowing accredited diplomats to observe the proceedings would promote transparency without interfering with the trial.
"The observation of court proceedings by diplomatic representatives in cases of high public interest is a long-standing and widely recognized practice that contributes to transparency," the letter said.
The case involves charges against former President Mikheil Saakashvili and opposition politicians Giorgi Vashadze, Zurab Girchi Japaridze, Nika Gvaramia, Nikanor Melia, Mamuka Khazaradze, Badri Japaridze, and Elene Khoshtaria under several articles of Georgia's Criminal Code. The hearings have been closed to the public.
According to defense lawyers, after the judge rejected the embassies' request, they filed a similar motion asking that diplomatic representatives be admitted as observers. The court also denied this request.
