“The sole reason for Elene Khoshtaria’s imprisonment is her non-payment of bail,” Shalva Papuashvili, Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, stated.

“Elene Khoshtaria is in prison for the only reason that she did not pay bail. Just as Nika Melia did not pay bail at the time. Do you remember what an object of attacks Georgia was then? Nika Melia took all this to Strasbourg and lost against Georgia. They told him that he must obey the laws,” Papuashvili added.

He also said her imprisonment serves a broader purpose: “Elene Khoshtaria is in prison for a reason and a purpose. The reason is that she did not pay bail. The purpose is that she was left in prison under the dictates of the outside world, so that later they could discuss resolutions. We have seen shameful discussions where there was a smear campaign and contempt for the Georgian people. Some people are Europeans with passports, otherwise they no longer have European values.”

For context, the Tbilisi City Court sentenced Khoshtaria to one year and six months in prison. The court had previously set a 5,000 GEL bail for the politician, accused of damaging Kakha Kaladze’s election banner. Khoshtaria refused to pay the bail.