Opposition Strategy Agmashenebeli leader sentenced to seven months in prison

A Tbilisi court has sentenced Giorgi Vashadze, leader of the opposition party Strategy Agmashenebeli, to seven months in prison for refusing to comply with a summons from a parliamentary investigative commission.

The commission was established earlier this year to examine the activities of the previous United National Movement government - a process many opposition parties have called politically motivated and illegitimate.

Judge Nino Galustashvili delivered the verdict on Tuesday. In addition to the prison sentence, Vashadze has been banned from holding public office for two years.

The opposition leader did not attend the hearing and instead awaited the decision at his party’s headquarters, where he addressed reporters shortly before his arrest.

 “My imprisonment and the imprisonment of a few people is nothing. Bidzina Ivanishvili [the founder and honorary chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party] has imprisoned the whole of Georgia now, and we are fighting for its liberation.”

A few hours after the ruling, police arrived at the party’s office, where Vashadze was formally informed of the verdict, handcuffed, and taken into custody. As he was led away, he called on his supporters to “fight to the end, with unity and dignity.”

Vashadze’s sentencing drew swift condemnation from opposition parties and the fifth President Salome Zourabichvili who joined members of Lelo, the United National Movement, and the Coalition for Change at the Strategy Builder office in a show of solidarity.

“Such a thing is unthinkable in a country that belongs to Europe, is heading towards Europe and will certainly go towards Europe,” said Zourabichvili.
“I think that Strasbourg [the European Court of Human Rights] will soon be unable to cope with the lawsuits coming from here.”

Opposition figures condemned the ruling as politically driven and warned it could further erode Georgia’s democratic institutions.

Vashadze’s lawyer, Beka Basilaia, argued that the case had no legal merit.

“These charges have no basis in law or due process. What I said in my closing statement was this - throw a piece of chalk against the wall,” he said, referring to the perceived absurdity of the prosecution’s case.

The ruling comes amid a broader crackdown on opposition figures who have refused to participate in the commission’s hearings. According to the prosecution, Coalition for Change leader Zurab Japaridze received a seven-month sentence on similar charges, while Lelo leaders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze were each sentenced to eight months. All had previously paid bail of 50,000 GEL as a preventive measure.

Other opposition figures - including Nika Melia, Nika Gvaramia, and Irakli Okruashvili - are also facing charges under the same article. Court decisions in their cases are still pending.