Mikheil Kavelashvili pardons Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze
President of Georgia Mikheil Kavelashvili, whom the opposition considers illegitimate, has pardoned the leaders of the “Strong Georgia” coalition, Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze.
Kavelashvili expressed hope that “in the future they will continue their political activities with respect for the law.”
“The registration process of electoral subjects for the local self-government elections ended yesterday. Among the registered political unions is one party – Strong Georgia – Lelo, whose leaders are currently serving sentences in a penitentiary for a specific crime. However, despite all the above circumstances, in order to leave no reason for anyone to say that the local self-government elections are being held under conditions of limited competitiveness, I have made a decision to pardon two convicts – Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze,” Kavelashvili’s statement reads.
After leaving Rustavi Penitentiary, Lelo – Strong Georgia leader Mamuka Khazaradze told the media that the so-called “president’s pardon” was nothing more than a step aimed at “confrontation” and “black PR.” He also underlined that the party’s decision to participate in the local elections remains unchanged.
Khazaradze confirmed once again that Lelo – Strong Georgia will take part in the municipal elections, stressing that the decision had already been made while the party leaders were in prison.
Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze were thrown into prison along with other politicians for refusing to appear before a parliamentary investigative commission of questionable legitimacy.
Head of the “Social Justice Centre” Interrogated at Tbilisi City Court
The head of the Social Justice Centre, Tamta Mikeladze, spoke to journalists after being questioned by a magistrate judge at the Tbilisi City Court.
On August 27, the court granted the prosecutor’s office’s motion to seize the bank accounts of several non-governmental organizations as part of an ongoing investigation into the mobilization of funds for “sabotage, attempted sabotage under aggravating circumstances, assistance to a foreign organization or an organization under foreign control in hostile activities, and actions directed against the constitutional order and foundations of national security of Georgia.”
On September 1, the prosecutor’s office summoned the heads of several NGOs as witnesses, including Tamta Mikeladze. She refused to appear at the prosecutor’s office and instead requested to be questioned before a magistrate judge.
According to Mikeladze, during the questioning, the defence highlighted “police arbitrariness and violence.” She stressed that the respiratory masks and safety equipment purchased for Social Justice Centre employees fully complied with standards and protocols established by the UN and OSCE.
“I believe the main goal of these processes is to cover up a plan to destroy civil society. It is well known that just a few days ago, at the request of the prosecutor’s office, the bank accounts of seven organisations were frozen. This has practically stopped our work and made us dysfunctional. Therefore, while it is being said that we are witnessing a Russian-style destruction of civil society in Georgia, this is our main point — not the fabricated arguments being pushed about our alleged responsibility.
The Public Defender has documented more than 280 cases of violence. Both the Public Defender and NGOs are pointing to the simultaneous use of special means by police forces, and not once — except in a single case — did the police even bother to warn citizens before dispersing them,” Mikeladze said.
Georgian Dream Propagandist: No Such Thing as Trump Fighting the ‘Deep State’
The Georgian Dream propaganda channel POSTV is broadcasting a new letter from Ivanishvili’s propagandist, Zaza Shatirishvili. In the letter, Shatirishvili claims that U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are not fighting the so-called “Deep State,” but are instead participating in its “reorganisation” and “carrying out the tasks of their masters with new methods.”
“U.S. officials have admitted that the European Union, with the exception of Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia, is run by the ‘Deep State,’ which requires no great effort to understand or prove. Do you really think that Europe, run by the ‘Deep State,’ has done everything in favour of Donald Trump, who is supposedly fighting against it? Do you think that oligarchic families would hand Trump victory points against themselves? Of course not. Trump, Rubio, and Vance are also participating in this grand reorganisation, which is being presented as cleansing the U.S. of the ‘Deep State.’
Now that everything has been sorted out, the oligarchic families — the so-called ‘Deep State’ — need to restore their tarnished reputation for a while and change the methods that people have already seen through and widely exposed. That is exactly what I mean by the rebranding of the ‘Deep State.’
As for President Kavelashvili’s letter, which I referenced earlier, I hope that it correctly reflects all concerns and grievances. It shows that the government vertical is aware of the reality of these processes and recognises that there is no Trump fighting the ‘Deep State,’” Shatirishvili writes.
The leaders of Georgian Dream and their propaganda outlets have been pushing conspiracy theories for years, claiming that most U.S. and European countries are ruled by the “Deep State” and the “Global War Party.”
After Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential elections, Ivanishvili’s party shifted its rhetoric, expressing optimism that Trump would defeat the “Deep State.” However, the anti-Western and pro-Russian Georgian Dream has failed to normalise relations with the new U.S. administration.