Helsinki Commission: GD exploits court as weapon to silence dissent
Helsinki Commission: GD exploits court as weapon to silence dissent
07:29, 27.03.2026

The U.S. Helsinki Commission has responded to the one-year and six-month prison sentence handed down to Droa party leader Elene Khoshtaria for damaging Kakha Kaladze’s campaign banner.

The commission’s statement highlights that Georgian Dream is wielding the court system as a tool to suppress all who challenge their grip on power.

“Elene Khoshtaria, the leader of the Droa opposition party, was sentenced to one year and six months in prison after being found guilty of “property damage” for writing “Russian Dream” on Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze’s campaign banner last September.

Khoshtaria and other opposition leaders are now facing the possibility of an even harsher sentence—7 to 15 years in prison—for alleged “crimes committed against the state,” reads the statement on platform X.



By - Svetlana Alimova

Politics
Droa Leader Elene Khoshtaria
The U.S. Helsinki Commission
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