EPP: “Georgia Returns to Persecution of Political Opponents”

“Georgia could be a leading country in the region but returns to persecution of political opponents, selective justice [and] instrumentalized judiciary,” said the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest European-level political party of the center-right late on February 18.

“It is regrettable that the Georgian authorities, with the decision to arrest [Nika Melia], have chosen to deepen the political crisis instead of looking for a solution [and] compromise,” EPP statement underscored. 

The Party said “snap elections [and] resumption of a dialogue between the government [and] the opposition should be considered a way out of the situation.”

The Court sent United National Movement chair Nika Melia to pre-trial detention on February 17, which was followed by the Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia’s resignation on February 18, further deepening Georgia’s months-long political crisis.

The moves came as the opposition rejects “fraud” October 2020 general election results, boycotts the new Parliament and calls for the new elections. The Georgian Dream party already named former PM and incumbent Defense Minister Irakli Garibashvili, known for his scathing rhetoric against the opposition, as PM candidate.

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