Badri Japaridze: We are seeing direct retaliation against political opponents, which is being carried out by this very so-called investigative commission that was created by trampling the law

We are seeing direct retaliation against political opponents, which is being carried out by this very so-called investigative commission that was created by trampling the law, - one of the leaders of Lelo - Strong Georgia, Badri Japaridze, stated at the trial.

At the moment, the Tbilisi City Court is discussing the admissibility of evidence in the case of Badri Japaridze, who is accused of failing to comply with the request of the temporary investigative commission of the parliament.

“There is a direct violation of equality and trampling on the requirements of the law… It is imperatively determined that at least 50% of the composition of the investigative commission must consist of opposition members.

We are talking about the fact that three members were appointed from among its ranks by the Georgian Dream, which is the same as a prosecutor appointing another prosecutor as a lawyer and saying that he defended the rights of the accused, and they allocated two places to another party. Only the Georgian Dream is represented on the investigative commission, therefore the investigative commission is used to retaliate against political opponents. The law established that 50% of the members must consist of opposition members precisely so that the party in power does not use the investigative commission to retaliate against political opponents. We have direct retaliatory actions against political opponents, which is precisely what is being done by this so-called investigative commission, which was created by trampling the law. The parliament itself is illegal, the commission is illegal, and all decisions have been made in violation of the law," Japaridze said.

For information, Badri Japaridze was charged under Article 349 of the Criminal Code, which refers to "failure to comply with the request of the temporary investigative commission of the Parliament of Georgia." This is punishable by a fine or imprisonment for a term of up to one year, deprivation of the right to hold a position or engage in activity for a term of up to three years.

Badri Japaridze was granted a 50,000-GEL bail as a preventive measure, which he paid within the established period.