“I cannot imagine sentencing a person to 11 years in prison, while simultaneously filing a case against his parents and then releasing him on bail of 50,000 GEL,” Giorgi Sharashidze, a member of the Gakharia for Georgia party, said in response to developments surrounding Giorgi Bachiashvili.

According to Sharashidze, the decision in this case was made informally by one person or a group of individuals.

“In an autocratic regime, pleading guilty is not a rare exception. Whatever kind of autocratic regime we have, this is the result. It is a sad reality that today no one believes in this agreement. No one believes that Bachiashvili would have pleaded guilty under such circumstances. There was talk of billions and serious claims. Yet under the plea bargain, 50,000 GEL was paid, which speaks volumes about how fair this agreement may have been.

“Unfortunately, the root of everything is the autocratic system that exists in Georgia. Whoever detained him released him when it was deemed necessary. That is the essence of the problem. Nevertheless, we congratulate Bachiashvili on his release. He has enough skills to be far more useful to the country in freedom than confined within four walls.

“I cannot imagine sentencing a person to 11 years, filing charges against his parents, and then releasing him on bail of 50,000 GEL. It is clear that this was not an institutional legal decision. As in other cases, this decision was made informally by one person or a group of people,” Sharashidze stated.