“What Ivanishvili is doing is no longer even Belarus – and not even Russia anymore. This is Kadyrov’s Chechnya. In this country, criminals and murderers roam the streets, 18-year-old youths are getting their throats slit, and they [the authorities] are imprisoning civil activists, actors, and decent, patriotic people,” said Levan Khabeishvili, Chairman of the Political Council of United National Movement.

He was responding to the court's decision to replace the 20,000 GEL bail imposed on former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili with pre-trial detention.

“We must understand that this is a fight for every Georgian. And if anyone thinks injustice hasn't reached them yet – it will. That’s why it’s important we all realize that strength is in unity. We must oppose their power with our own, and we won’t achieve anything against this oppressive regime with soft words or performance-style protests.

This regime is ready to imprison anyone – women, politicians, ordinary citizens, actors. We must realize that we are in a worse situation than Belarus. This country is now run by a gang, like Kadyrov’s Chechnya,” said Khabeishvili.

For context: The court replaced the bail of 20,000 GEL previously set for former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili with imprisonment. He was detained in the courtroom immediately following the ruling. The decision was made by Judge Nino Tarashvili at today’s pre-trial hearing, upholding the prosecution’s motion to impose detention instead of bail.

To recall, Okruashvili is accused of failing to comply with the demands of the Georgian Parliament’s Temporary Investigative Commission.