Zurab Japaridze Sentenced to Seven Months in Jail in First Verdict for Defying GD Commission

Zurab Japaridze, leader of the opposition Girchi–More Freedom party, was sentenced to seven months in jail — the first guilty verdict for defying the Georgian Dream parliamentary commission tasked with investigating alleged crimes by the former UNM government and other officials.

He has also been barred from holding public office for two years.

Six other individuals, including five opposition politicians, await final rulings in similar cases. Among them are Nika Melia and Nika Gvaramia of the Ahali party, both in pretrial detention after refusing to post bail, as Japaridze did. Lelo’s Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, and Strategy Aghmashenebeli’s Giorgi Vashadze are currently free on bail. Former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili also remains behind bars after rejecting bail.

Zurab Japaridze did not hold public office under the UNM government. He joined the party in 2012. He left in 2015 and then founded the right-libertarian Girchi party. Following a split in 2020, he established Girchi–More Freedom. In the run-up to the 2024 parliamentary elections, his party joined the Coalition for Change alliance, which secured the largest share of opposition votes, according to official, albeit contested, results.

Japaridze was put in pretrial detention on May 22 after declining to pay the GEL 20,000 bail (about USD 7,350). Believing the case to be politically motivated, he chose not to contest the prosecution’s evidence to speed things up. That fast-tracking led to the announcement of the final verdict today, June 23, a month after his arrest. His seven-month prison sentence will end in December, after the scheduled local elections, in which his party and coalition do not plan to participate.

He wasn’t in court to hear the ruling. Judge Jvebe Nachkebia, who previously sent Nika Gvaramia to pretrial detention, read out the verdict in a courtroom where the defense was not present.

Japaridze thus became the first opposition leader convicted and jailed for refusing to comply with the GD parliamentary investigative commission’s request, which is a criminal offense under Georgian law. Besides imprisonment and a ban on holding public office, penalties may include a fine.

Speaking to reporters after the announcement of Japaridze’s ruling, Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said, “They do not recognize [the parliament] — they will go to jail,” accusing opposition members who refused to comply with the GD parliamentary commission’s summonses of acting as “agents” of the “deep state.”

Controversial Commission

The Georgian Dream parliament’s temporary investigative commission, chaired by GD veteran and former justice and culture minister Tea Tsulukiani, is tasked with probing alleged crimes committed by officials from the United National Movement (UNM). The commission has summoned both alleged victims and former officials, including current opposition leaders, most of whom have refused to appear, considering the one-party parliament illegitimate.

The exception was Giorgi Gakharia, former GD prime minister and current leader of the opposition For Georgia party, who testified but maintained that doing so did not imply recognition of the GD parliament’s legitimacy.

The commission again summoned Gakharia to testify over the Chorchana episode, which the Prosecutor’s Office says is now investigating under the alleged “sabotage.” Gakharia offered to testify online, citing a planned foreign visit. The commission, however, declined his request, despite having previously heard some witnesses remotely.

Other opposition figures, including Nika Gvaramia, already in detention, and Mamuka Khazaradze, have also been resummoned. Both refused to appear.

The commission is addressing topics including alleged torture, business racketeering, and the August 2008 war, which it blames on the former UNM government and ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Georgian Dream says the commission’s final report will be submitted to the country’s Constitutional Court to ban the UNM and its “successor parties.” GD says it plans to ban the opposition by the end of the year. 

Also Read:

• 30/05/2025 – Opposition Politician Nika Melia Put in Pretrial Detention
• 21/05/2025 – GYLA: Rejection to Appear Before GD Commission Cannot Be Qualified as Criminal Offense

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