Zurab Girchi Japaridze, leader of the Coalition for Change, will face criminal charges after failing to appear before Georgia’s parliamentary Temporary Investigative Commission.
The Tbilisi Prosecutor’s Office confirmed on Thursday that the process of formally charging Japaridze is currently in preparations. The opposition figure arrived at the investigative agency just minutes before the announcement.
The case stems from Japaridze’s refusal to comply with a lawful summons issued by the Commission. “He did not appear before the body as requested and ignored a subsequent order to testify before a magistrate judge,” officials stated.
The investigation is being carried out under Article 349 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which penalizes failure to comply with requests from a parliamentary investigative commission. In case of conviction, Japaridze could face a fine, up to one year in prison, or a ban from holding public office or engaging in professional activity for up to three years.
