Giorgi Gakharia deems mandate revocation immunity removal, paving way for politically motivated persecution

“The revocation of our mandates was not a procedure but a removal of immunity and paving the way for politically motivated criminal persecution to eliminate their main political threat before municipal elections,” Gakharia for Georgia chairman Giorgi Gakharia wrote on X.

He remarked on parliament’s termination of parliamentary powers for him and eleven other members of his party.

“We have seen this before – a page torn from the Kremlin’s playbook: cancel immunity, fabricate criminal cases and destroy the political alternative,” Gakharia stated.

The parliamentary powers lost Teona Akubardia, Ana Buchukuri, Giorgi Gakharia, Levan Gogichaishvili, Zaza Tavadze, Beka Liluashvili, Natia Mezvrishvili, Berdia Sichinava, Kakhaberi Kemokllidze, Roin Kochorashvili, Dimitri Tskitishvili, and Zviad Dzidziguri.

The “Gakharia for Georgia” party did not remove its parliamentary list, therefore its 12 members were still considered MPs until today. Georgian Dream said that the criteria for early termination included skipping parliament sessions without a justifiable excuse.