Tbilisi City Court has sentenced Nika Gvaramia to eight months in prison for refusing to cooperate with a parliamentary investigative commission probing the conduct of officials from Georgia’s 2003–2012 government.
Besides the prison term, Gvaramia has been banned from holding public office for the next two years. The sentence was handed down by Judge Jvebe Nachkebia. Gvaramia was not present at the final court session.
The case stems from Gvaramia’s repeated refusals to appear before the temporary investigative commission. After he failed to appear at the trial and pay a court-imposed GEL 30,000 bail, the court turned his bail into a prison sentence. On June 13, he turned himself in at the Rustavi penitentiary.
The ruling has drawn attention as concerns over political prosecutions in Georgia are growing, particularly ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections.
