The European Union says that it is currently scrutinising closely the recent ruling by the Georgian Supreme Court in the case against opposition leader Gigi Ugulava, who was convicted for embezzling 48 million GEL while serving as Tbilisi mayor under the United National Movement government.
The circumstances around this verdict are not conducive to advancing the political dialogue aimed at a much needed depolarisation of the political situation in Georgia. Upholding the highest standards of judicial independence, fair trial and the rule of law is an essential commitment of Georgia under the EU-Georgia Association Agreement,” EU said.
The EU says that they will ‘continue to monitor’ all other trials in Georgia related to high profile cases.
The opposition, which has suspended the 2020 election-related talks with the ruling Georgian Dream party because of the detention, says that it is a case of ‘political persecution.’
The ruling Georgian Dream denies any political grounds in the case, stating that the verdict was delivered by the independent court and if the opposition thinks the decision was unfair they can address the European Court of Human Rights.