Opposition Girchi-More Freedom Member Gela Khasaia Arrested on Criminal Charges
Gela Khasaia, an activist and member of the opposition Girchi–More Freedom party, was arrested late at night on September 29 on a criminal charge, in what his lawyer and supporters believe is a politically motivated case.
The Interior Ministry said that Khasaia, 29, and another individual identified only as “V. Ch.,” 28, were detained on a charge of intentionally inflicting minor bodily harm, punishable by up to three years in prison.
“The investigation established that the defendants, following a verbal altercation, inflicted various bodily injuries on R. Ch., born in 1975, and then fled the scene,” the ministry said in a September 30 statement, adding that the injured man was hospitalized.
Khasaia has pleaded not guilty as his supporters believe his arrest and criminal prosecution are politically motivated. Khasaia has been actively involved in pro-European and anti-Georgian Dream demonstrations and repeatedly detained on administrative charges.
Khasaia “had personally received threats from specific police officers that they would arrest him — not on administrative [but criminal] charges,” Khasaia’s lawyer, Omar Purtseladze, said. He added that while in detention, Khasaia was subjected to psychological pressure, and one officer reminded him of a “promise” to have him arrested in a criminal case.
According to Purtseladze, the case allegedly stems from a September 1 incident in Tbilisi involving a verbal altercation between several individuals unknown to Khasaia, in which he was not involved but only witnessed. He said Khasaia’s lack of any role in the conflict is “obvious.”
“’Didn’t I promise you I would have you arrested on a criminal charge?!’— these were the words of a militsya officer, not a police officer, to our unlawfully abducted teammate Gela Khasaia, who remains in political imprisonment,” Nika Parulava of the Coalition for Change said on a September 30 briefing.
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