Lelo’s Japaridze denies accusations of radicalization: It’s false propaganda narrative

“The Prosecutor’s Office is fulfilling a political task — the task of destroying politicians. However, by doing so, the ‘Georgian Dream’ is only accelerating the digging of its own political grave,” said Badri Japaridze, one of the leaders of Lelo – Strong Georgia, upon arriving at the Prosecutor’s Office.

According to Japaridze, the accusation of sabotage against the state is “absurd” and represents “a complete reversal of reality.”

“A few days ago, we marked 35 years since the democratic elections held in 1990. During these 35 years, my goal has always been to resist any violent overthrow of a democratically elected government. I was in the parliament building when they were shooting at us, but I defended the legitimate government. Later, together with my colleagues, I dedicated my efforts to protecting the state from sabotage. Now it is the government itself that is sabotaging our country and its European future — yet it accuses us of sabotage. This is nothing more than a political order carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office,” Japaridze said.

He added that such actions only deepen the government’s political crisis.

“By doing this, the ‘Georgian Dream’ is accelerating the digging of its own political grave. The accusation of sabotage against the state is absurd. Our mission is to confront real sabotage through constitutional and peaceful means. The only legitimate way to change a government is through elections, and those elections will bring peace and unity to the country,” Japaridze noted.

He also urged the public to remain calm and avoid the escalation of tensions.

“Our task should be to calm society. We must not allow the confrontation to grow — that is exactly what ‘Georgian Dream’ wants. We must act calmly, within constitutional limits, to save this country,” he said.

Japaridze rejected the ruling party’s claims about opposition radicalization, calling them false and propagandistic.

“We did not participate in any radicalization. This is a lie spread by ‘Georgian Dream’ and ‘Imedi’ propaganda. Those who are in power today were behind the 1992 coup — they overthrew a legitimate government. That is a fact. We have always believed that the only way to change power is through elections. Any claim to the contrary is a false narrative,” he stated.

Earlier today, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia announced that it had initiated criminal proceedings against Mikheil Saakashvili, Giorgi Vashadze, Nika Gvaramia, Nikanor Melia, Zurab Japaridze, Elene Khoshtaria, Mamuka Khazaradze, and Badri Japaridze.

Japaridze has been charged under Part 1 of Article 318 of the Criminal Code of Georgia — sabotage. The Prosecutor’s Office has requested bail as a preventive measure.