Europe won’t backtrack on principles, political prisoners must be released unconditionally, opposition leader Gvaramia

 Nika Gvaramia, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, on Thursday said that Europe had no intention of reversing its stance on democratic principles, emphasizing that this reflected both European standards and the expectations of Georgian society.

"Europe will not take a step back because this is a matter of principle, not just the Georgian public’s concern. Their internal standards also prevent dialogue with dictators. Unfortunately, this affects us as well. There is no discussion of releasing prisoners in exchange for prior conditions - they must be released unconditionally," Gvaramia said.

The statement came following the European Parliament’s adoption of a resolution titled The Case of Elene Khoshtaria and Political Prisoners under the Georgian Dream Regime”, which passed with 438 votes in favor and 37 against. 

The resolution condemns the “politically motivated arrests” of Elene Khoshtaria and others, as well as the “systematic criminal prosecution of political opponents, journalists, and activists by the ruling party.”