The head of the opposition, Nika Gvaramia, imprisoned in Georgia in the middle of the deepening of the repression | New policies

The TBLISSI court sentences the opposition figure Nika Gvaramia to eight months and forbids it to be held in the office for two years.

A court in Georgia condemned the eminent figure of the opposition Nika Gvaramia to eight months in prison, in the midst of a repression of deepening of criticism from the Georgian dream party.

Gvaramia, the co-leader of the opposition party Akhali, was also forbidden to hold its functions for two years.

The court pronounced the sentence on Tuesday to refuse to cooperate with a parliamentary commission responsible for investigating alleged reprehensible acts under former president Mikheil Saakashvili, a pro-Western reformer currently serving a prison sentence of 12 and a half.

Several other leading opponents of the Georgian dream were imprisoned for accusations similar to the Gvaramia, including Giorgi Vashadze, a former deputy justice minister, who received a Seven -month -old pinterance Last week.

The repression led to growing accusations against the ruling party that it trampled democracy in the midst of continuous protests following the disputed elections from last year.

Addressing the AFP press agency on Tuesday, GVaramia lawyer, Dito Sadzagishvili, said that the verdict against his client was “illegal” and “part of the government’s attempt to crush any dissent in Georgia”.

Growing criticism

The British government denounced the repression of opposition personalities on Monday and convened the country’s affairs accusation.

“The imprisonment of eminent opposition leaders is the last attempt of the Georgian government to repress freedoms and to stifle dissent,” said the United Kingdom’s Foreign Affairs Office.

“The British government will not hesitate to consider new measures if Georgia will not amount to respecting and maintaining democracy, freedoms and human rights,” he added.

The NGO Amnesty International also criticized the government, saying last week in reaction to Vashadze’s conviction that it had “serious concerns concerning the abusive use of the legislative, police and other powers to silence government criticism in Georgia”.

The organization of human rights has specifically targeted the parliamentary committee linked to the arrests of opposition figures.

“With its disputed status, the Commission was instrumentalized to target former officials for their opposition in principle,” said Denis Krivosheev, deputy director of Amnesty for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

After Georgian Dream won the victory in a contested election in October, the European Union candidate nation experienced mass demonstrations.

Critics accuse the government of undermining democracy and bringing the country closer to Moscow, allegations that the ruling party denies.

The EU said that around 80% of the population supported Georgia to join the block, a commitment devoted to its constitution.

In the midst of allegations of democratic decline, the United States and several European countries have sanctioned certain representatives of the Georgian government.