Gakharia on detention order: Ivanishvili’s pre-election threat to ‘set criminal cases on court level’ fulfilled

“Regrettably, both Georgia’s democratic forces and the West have collectively lost the battle against propaganda,” Chairman of the Gakharia-For Georgia party, Giorgi Gakharia, wrote on social media.

According to Giorgi Gakharia, a far more consequential fight to preserve the European idea in Georgia must not be lost.

“Yesterday, the Georgian Dream regime formally institutionalised the political persecution against me by bringing fabricated criminal charges. Already today, the court ordered my detention. This fulfils Ivanishvili’s pre-election threat, who publicly declared that he had already „arranged criminal cases on the level of courts“. The charges concern the Chorchana case and the events of June 20, with the clear intent to fabricate additional accusations.

For our political party – and for me personally, from exile – this marks a new stage in the struggle to preserve the European future of Georgia, a struggle that now demands the use of every available platform. This latest move reaffirms that both our decision to participate in municipal elections and to enter Parliament were the only correct strategic choices on the path toward that objective.

Regrettably, both Georgia’s democratic forces and the West have collectively lost the battle against propaganda. Yet we must not lose the far more consequential fight to preserve the European idea in Georgia. Losing this battle will have serious and long-term consequences not only for our country but for the entire region.

Despite an increasingly repressive environment, freedom and democracy are deeply rooted in Georgian society. The idea of Europe must be safeguarded in Georgia, and Georgia must remain firmly on the Western agenda. Severing ties or disengaging would only accelerate the country’s slide into Russia’s sphere of influence,” Giorgi Gakharia wrote on social platform X (formerly Twitter).

Tbilisi City Court today has ordered pre-trial imprisonment for former Prime Minister and current chairman of the For Georgia party, Giorgi Gakharia, in connection with the Chorchana case.