Opposition Calls for Halting ‘Political Persecutions’

A group of opposition parties, behind the ongoing protests, said in a joint statement that the authorities continued “politically-motivated persecution” of opposition activists.

“The political persecution continues even after the pledge made by President Saakashvili during the meeting with one of the opposition leaders [Levan Gachechiladze] to review cases” of opposition activists, who have been arrested on various charged since the launch of street protest rallies on April 9, the statement says.

The statement was read out by Nino Burjanadze, leader of Democratic Movement-United Georgia party (DMUG), in presence of other opposition leaders, who where gathered in the Public Defender’s Office.

DMUG claimed that the police arrested six of its activists in Kvemo Kartli region this week mainly on the charges related with illegal possession of arms. Last week an activist from the same party, who is a former employee of the Interior Ministry, was also arrested on the same charges. The Republican Party said in a statement that its activist in Chokhatauri, a town in western Georgia, was arrested on June 10 by the police also on the charges of illegal possession of arms. Movement for United Georgia opposition party said that its activist was arrested in Gori for the charges related with resisting police.

In the joint statement the opposition parties said that the authorities were employing “two ways for the politically-motivated persecution.”

“The first one is when the authorities carry out direct terror and assaults on [the opposition supporters and activists] through their informal groups. And the second method is carrying out terror on the pretext of violation of law [by opposition activists],” the statement says.

It also says that “up to 200 cases of violence” against the opposition supporters and activists since the launch of protests remained unresolved by the police.

“Politically-motivated persecution of citizens will further escalate already existing political crisis. Illegal arrests of people will trigger sharp escalation of the situation and the authorities will be fully responsible for the consequences,” it reads. “We call on the human rights groups, media, international organizations and the diplomatic missions to use all the means at their disposal to help to immediately halt this machinery of repressions.”

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