Opposition suspends dialogue with ruling party after detention of Ugulava
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The European Georgia opposition party leader David Bakradze has stated that opposition parties are suspending the dialogue with the ruling Georgia Dream party on 2020 election issue after the sentencing of European Georgia opposition party leader Gigi Ugulava to three years and two months in prison by the Georgian Supreme Court yesterday.
Bakradze said that opposition parties were ready to make new offers to the ruling party on the election issue. However, ‘after the detention on political grounds all doors for negotiations are closed.’
The ruling Georgian Dream party MP Gia Volski has dismissed any political persecution.
US Congressman Adam Kinzinger has expressed his concern regarding the detention on his official Twitter page:
Gigi Ugulava, leader of European Georgia, was arrested today and sentenced to 38 months in prison for an old crime he’s already served time over. To say this is disturbing would be an understatement. Using courts as a weapon is NOT democracy.
— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) February 10, 2020
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell says the diplomatic corps will continue mediating with the ruling party and the opposition to see possible ways out from the current situation.
Ugulava was sentenced for embezzlement of 48 million GEL from Tbilisi Municipal Development fund while in office.
He served as Tbilisi mayor between 2005 and 2013.
Read more about Ugulava here.
Leader of European Georgia opposition party and ex-Mayor of Tbilisi Gigi Ugulava has been sentenced to three years and two months in prison by Georgian Supreme Court for the embezzlement of 48 million GEL from Tbilisi Municipal Development fund while in office. In February 2018 the Tbilisi Court of Appeals also sentenced Ugulava to one year and three months to prison in the case. However, the sentence was absorbed by another sentence Ugulava faced.
Bail has been set at 2,000 GEL for former Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava, who was charged with physical assault after a recent incident involving athletes at Tbilisi International Airport.
Former Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava was charged with physical assault after an incident involving athletes at Tbilisi International Airport yesterday.
Former Tbilisi mayor Gigi Ugulava was released from prison today around 6:30 PM after Tbilisi Court of Appeals reduced his sentence, effectively ending his prison term.
Ruling party MP Mamuka Mdinaradze has responded to US Congressman Adam Kinzinger’s concern on the arrest of the opposition leader Gigi Ugulava by saying that the court was used as a weapon under the United National Movement government (UNM) that Ugulava belonged to.
The US embassy to Georgia has reported that they are disappointed that the timing and context of the conviction and sentencing of an opposition leader Gigi Ugulava yesterday has put the election dialogue between opposition parties and the ruling Georgian Dream party at risk. Ugulava, who was the ex-Tbilisi mayor under the United National Movement leadership and now a current leader of the European Georgia opposition party, has been sentenced to three years and two months in prison.
British Embassy to Georgia has stated that the recent sentencing of opposition European Georgia leader Gigi Ugulava “leaves unanswered questions” concerning the timing and process. "As a friend and a strategic partner”, it encourages steps “to narrow divisions and reinforce democracy” in Georgia.
The ruling Georgian Dream party has urged opposition parties to resume negotiations with them on the 2020 elections, as the opposition decided to suspend dialogue after the conviction of opposition leader Gigi Ugulava earlier this week for embezzlement of 48 million GEL while serving as Tbilisi mayor. 'Being in politics must not be an indulgence to any politician, no matter which party he belongs to. Everyone is equal before law,” Mdinaradze said.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party has expressed readiness to meet with separate opposition parties as well as the united opposition to reach a deal with them on how to hold the 2020 parliamentary elections. The United National Movement opposition says that it is an attempt to ‘divide and run,’ stating that the ruling party will not achieve its goal “to split the opposition’s unity’ around the election topic.
Opposition parties still say they will refuse to enter into a dialogue with the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party on how to hold the 2020 parliamentary elections which they suspended after the detention of opposition leader Gigi Ugulava earlier this month.
The candidate for Poti mayor, former Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava, says that the country’s Interior Ministry has not given him a document necessary to register for the race, which confirms that he is not a convicted felon for sexual or narcotics crimes.
The election banner of the united opposition’s joint candidate for Poti mayor, former Tbilisi mayor Gigi Ugulava, has been damaged in Poti, Ugulava announced on Facebook. He stated that surveillance cameras are nearby and urged the country’s Interior Ministry to look into the issue.