Georgian prosecutors on Tuesday indicted Giorgi Gakharia, an opposition leader and former prime minister, on charges related to his rule amid an escalating crackdown on opponents of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
Gakharia, who was prime minister elected by the Georgian Dream party in 2019-2021, left the ruling party after his resignation and created his own political formation – “For Georgia“, which came in fifth place after last year's parliamentary elections.
At a press conference, Georgian Prosecutor General Giorgi Gvarakidze said that Gakharia was accused of exceeding his powers and causing injuries to many people. The maximum sentence on these charges could be 13 years in prison.
Gvarakidze said the charges relate to the violent suppression of anti-government protests in 2019, as well as the establishment of checkpoints in September of that year along the border of the Russian-backed disputed territory of South Ossetia, which prosecutors say are illegal.
At the time of the two violations for which he is charged, Gakharia was serving as interior minister.
“Georgian Dream“ – founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire and former prime minister who is seen as Georgia's de facto leader, said last month that he would ask the country's Supreme Court to ban the three largest opposition parties.
A spokesman for the "For Georgia" party said prosecutors had demonstrated that Ivanishvili was pursuing a "personal political vendetta" against Gakharia in an attempt to remove him from politics. "Georgian Dream," which critics say is authoritarian and pro-Russian, has taken steps to suppress the votes of its opponents after more than a year of sporadic protests.
Last week, prosecutors said they had filed charges, including a plot to overthrow the government, against several opposition leaders. "For Georgia" is the only opposition party that won seats in last year's parliamentary elections that Georgian Dream has not yet said it wants to ban, Reuters notes.