ALDE Party, Liberal International and ALDE PACE stand united and issue a following statement:
We strongly condemn the imprisonment today of Zurab “Girchi” Japaridze, the leader of the our member party ‘Girchi-More Freedom’ and threats of arrests against other politicians.
Convicted in a sham trial, closed court, without representatives of diplomatic missions permitted to be present, and only the Georgian Dream-controlled state broadcaster able to film the hearing. These are the conditions in which popular liberal politician Japaridze was sentenced today for bravely standing against a politically motivated commission whose long-term ambition is to dissolve political opposition in Georgia.
The continued erosion of democratic values and freedoms in Georgia is deplorable. We view this latest step as further evidence that the Georgian Dream government is scared of the continued manifestations and growing public pressure. We urge the Georgian Dream government to respect their obligations under international law, release Japaridze without delay, drop the charges against him and return Georgia to the European path the Georgian people have chosen and the Georgian constitution demands.
We applaud the Georgian people for their steadfast commitment to securing the Euro-Atlantic future of their country and rejecting Russian influence by demonstrating on the streets of Tbilisi for 176 consecutive days.
Georgia’s future is in the EU, in this pursuit they will always have our full support.