The Daily Beat: 21 May
The court placed Zurab Japaridze, the leader of the Girchi-More Freedom party, in pretrial detention for refusing to pay the bail imposed for defying a summons from the Georgian Dream parliament’s temporary investigative committee. Today’s tense hearing took place amid heavy police presence inside and around the Tbilisi City Court, as Japaridze’s imprisonment was widely expected.
Speaking on behalf of the Resistance Platform, Salome Zurabishvili, President of Georgia, stated: “Today was yet another shameful day for the Georgian Dream. The police attack on the court was unjustifiable, restricting access for nearly everyone and moving the proceedings to a small courtroom. It is disgraceful that Zurab Japaridze has been placed in pre-trial detention.” Opposition leaders also decried Japaridze’s imprisonment, describing it as politically motivated.
On May 21, during a U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party as an “anti-American government” in response to a question from Congressman Joe Wilson. “So we will look at that and say: is it in our national interest to have an anti-American government governing an important part of the world? And if not, we’ll take appropriate actions to impose costs on that government,” Rubio said.
Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili reacted to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s referring to Tbilisi as an “anti-American government,” saying one should look at the “full context.” She argued the sole conclusion one can draw is that America still has no “definitive position” on Georgia.
German Ambassador to Georgia Peter Fischer was verbally attacked and sworn at by an alleged Georgian Dream supporter in Batumi on May 18, the embassy confirmed to Formula TV, after the ruling party’s propaganda channel POSTV aired a video of the man himself using obscene language and bragging about insulting the diplomat in public.
In an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys has warned against re-engaging with Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream government at any diplomatic level unless it recommits to democratic principles, citing what he described as a missed opportunity by the European Union to impose sanctions during the country’s ongoing democratic backsliding. The minister also said the EU had failed to act decisively in response to the Georgian authorities’ crackdown on civil society and flawed elections.
The human rights watchdog, Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), and two independent media outlets filed a constitutional lawsuit to overturn the controversial Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and suspend its provisions pending the court’s decision. FARA was adopted by the GD Parliament on April 1, and it will take effect by the end of the month.
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) criticized criminal charges against opposition figures for not appearing before a commission investigating alleged crimes of the United National Movement. GYLA raised legal concerns about the commission’s legitimacy, formation, and activities, particularly regarding recent prosecutions and pretrial detentions. They argue that prosecuting individuals for failing to appear before the commission violates Georgian law.
On May 22, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced the expulsion of 15 foreign nationals from the country. The statement indicated that citizens from Turkey, Nigeria, Turkmenistan, China, India, Jordan, Egypt, Romania, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Iran, and Russia were expelled and barred from re-entering Georgia in accordance with national legislation. This announcement coincides with the ruling Georgian Dream party’s legislative efforts to tighten immigration controls.