Judge Jvebe Nachkepia sent Nika Gvaramia, leader of the opposition Ahali party, to pre-trial detention today, making him the third opposition leader – and fourth person overall – to be jailed for boycotting the Georgian Dream parliamentary commission probing alleged crimes under United National Movement rule. The politician did not attend the June 13 hearing but went to the Rustavi penitentiary himself to be taken into custody, certain of the court’s anticipated decision.
The ruling to impose detention as a pretrial restraint came after Gvaramia, whose party is boycotting Georgian Dream’s one-party parliament, refused to pay the bail of GEL 30,000 (around USD 11,000) set after he defied a summons by the controversial commission, with the bail deadline expiring on June 8. Rejecting a parliamentary commission request is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to a year, with deprivation of the right to hold an office or to carry out a particular activity for up to three years.
Other opposition leaders put in pretrial detention in similar cases include Ahali’s Nika Melia and Girchi-More Freedom’s Zurab Japaridze. Earlier, ex-Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili was also remanded in custody for refusing to pay the bail. Other opposition politicians, including Lelo for Georgia’s Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, spared themselves initial detention by posting bail, but are still tried on criminal charges for defying the commission’s summonses.
Gvaramia, who held senior official positions during the UNM government (2003–2012), had already served a prison sentence from May 2022 to June 2023 before being released through a presidential pardon by Salome Zurabishvili. He had been convicted of abusing his powers while managing Rustavi 2 TV — in a case widely seen as politically motivated. Following his release, he entered politics.
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 investigating alleged crimes committed by the United National Movement government officials. It has summoned both alleged victims and former officials, including current opposition leaders, the majority of whom have refused to appear. 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 constitute recognition of the GD parliament’s legitimacy.
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.
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