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Zviad Dzidziguri: Bidzina Ivanishvili directly threatened Giorgi Gakharia that he would put him in prison, and that threat is now being carried out – they are preparing to arrest political leaders. As for the elections, it is better to run with a united front and joint candidates

Zviad Dzidziguri: Bidzina Ivanishvili directly threatened Giorgi Gakharia that he would put him in prison, and that threat is now being carried out – they are preparing to arrest political leaders. As for the elections, it is better to run with a united front and joint candidates
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The accusation against Giorgi Gakharia is essentially an accusation for “protecting Georgian interests.” He is being politically persecuted. Every step the government is taking against opposition leaders is an attempt to cleanse the political field so that no one is left to resist — said Zviad Dzidziguri, one of the leaders of "For Georgia," during an appearance on PalitraNews’s program "Day's Newsroom."

According to him, setting up checkpoints along the occupation line on Georgian-controlled territory is crucial for protecting citizens.

"There should be as many such checkpoints as possible. It’s a very important and positive step. The only time such a step was taken by the current government was during Giorgi Gakharia’s term as Minister of Internal Affairs, when a checkpoint was set up in the village of Chorchana, in Georgian-controlled territory. This was a step taken to defend Georgia’s interests. The only party this could have irritated is the occupier – it shouldn’t have irritated representatives of the Georgian government, especially six years later. All of this is a baseless accusation. Charging Gakharia for supposedly provoking something, which allegedly led to the loss of territories, is fabricated and politically motivated. Installing a checkpoint is not just putting up a building at a spot – it involves infrastructure, roads, budget allocation from the Ministry of Finance, mobilizing equipment from the Ministry of Infrastructure, etc. Unless the whole government was involved, no single agency could have done it alone. So everything is clear – this is political persecution against Gakharia. This is a continuation of Ivanishvili’s threat made during the pre-election period on his 'pocket TV channel.' He said the case was already stitched up and that Gakharia would be arrested soon. Every step the government takes against opposition leaders is aimed at cleaning the political field so there is no one left to resist. This applies to the media, political parties, arrests through investigative commissions, and so on."

When asked whether Giorgi Gakharia will attend the investigative commission hearing, Dzidziguri said his stance is: "Let’s see what the situation will be."

"As far as I’ve spoken with Giorgi Gakharia, his decision is: ‘We’ll see what the situation is and act accordingly.’ He will decide for himself whether to attend or not. I can't confirm either way. He might go, or he might not. Let’s wait until Monday. Regarding the issue of being summoned a second time – this has become cynical. It’s cynicism. Some political figures neither appeared nor paid bail, were jailed, and are still being summoned again. Khazaradze paid bail – he’s being summoned again. Gakharia, who did appear, is also being summoned again. 'Georgian Dream' has completely lost its credibility and has become a cynical government. This wasn’t so characteristic of them before. If Ivanishvili is now imitating Putin and wants to turn Georgia into Russia, we should remember that in the early years of his rule, Putin also spoke in democratic terms. But he knew he couldn’t hold on to power democratically, so he began taking steps like those our government is taking now. Putin has vast energy and military resources. He leads a dangerous and powerful country. Ivanishvili, when repeating the same methods, doesn’t even have 1% of those resources. This cynicism, this attack on democratic institutions, this hostility toward political parties and the media – it cannot last long."

When asked whether Georgian Dream is preparing to send Gakharia to prison, Dzidziguri responded:

"It’s not Georgian Dream, it’s Bidzina Ivanishvili preparing to do this. This is political retribution against a political opponent. It didn’t start yesterday or the day before, but the day Giorgi Gakharia resigned as Prime Minister and later formed an opposition party. From that day on, not a single speech or open letter from Ivanishvili passed without mentioning Gakharia in a negative context. The climax came during the election campaign, when he directly threatened to imprison him. That threat is now being carried out. Other opposition party leaders have already been arrested or are being prepared for arrest. The government has crossed all red lines. The accusation against Giorgi Gakharia is, in essence, an accusation for 'protecting Georgian interests.' This is a fabricated case. If what he did was so wrong and against the country’s interest, why was he appointed Prime Minister just two months later?"

He also spoke about his party's — For Georgia — participation in the upcoming local self-government elections and emphasized that it would be better for the opposition to run with a united front and joint candidates.

"Of course, joint candidates are better. Of course, going in with a united front is better. You win Tbilisi with 250,000 votes. That’s how many people have shown up at the protest rallies in Tbilisi. If these people can be convinced to vote, the government will lose Tbilisi. Whether they can be convinced remains to be seen. Refusing to try, thereby avoiding causing discomfort to the government — discomfort that might cost it the election in Tbilisi — how can that be justified? It would be better not to do this alone. There’s still time to decide on the format. No matter how unfair the elections may be, in my view, one should still participate. If the situation develops to a point where a boycott becomes necessary, what’s stopping us then? August 4 is the deadline for confirming participation. There is always value in fighting!"

Zviad Dzidziguri: Bidzina Ivanishvili directly threatened Giorgi Gakharia that he would put him in prison, and that threat is now being carried out – they are preparing to arrest political leaders. As for the elections, it is better to run with a united front and joint candidates

The accusation against Giorgi Gakharia is essentially an accusation for “protecting Georgian interests.” He is being politically persecuted. Every step the government is taking against opposition leaders is an attempt to cleanse the political field so that no one is left to resist — said Zviad Dzidziguri, one of the leaders of "For Georgia," during an appearance on PalitraNews’s program "Day's Newsroom."

According to him, setting up checkpoints along the occupation line on Georgian-controlled territory is crucial for protecting citizens.

"There should be as many such checkpoints as possible. It’s a very important and positive step. The only time such a step was taken by the current government was during Giorgi Gakharia’s term as Minister of Internal Affairs, when a checkpoint was set up in the village of Chorchana, in Georgian-controlled territory. This was a step taken to defend Georgia’s interests. The only party this could have irritated is the occupier – it shouldn’t have irritated representatives of the Georgian government, especially six years later. All of this is a baseless accusation. Charging Gakharia for supposedly provoking something, which allegedly led to the loss of territories, is fabricated and politically motivated. Installing a checkpoint is not just putting up a building at a spot – it involves infrastructure, roads, budget allocation from the Ministry of Finance, mobilizing equipment from the Ministry of Infrastructure, etc. Unless the whole government was involved, no single agency could have done it alone. So everything is clear – this is political persecution against Gakharia. This is a continuation of Ivanishvili’s threat made during the pre-election period on his 'pocket TV channel.' He said the case was already stitched up and that Gakharia would be arrested soon. Every step the government takes against opposition leaders is aimed at cleaning the political field so there is no one left to resist. This applies to the media, political parties, arrests through investigative commissions, and so on."

When asked whether Giorgi Gakharia will attend the investigative commission hearing, Dzidziguri said his stance is: "Let’s see what the situation will be."

"As far as I’ve spoken with Giorgi Gakharia, his decision is: ‘We’ll see what the situation is and act accordingly.’ He will decide for himself whether to attend or not. I can't confirm either way. He might go, or he might not. Let’s wait until Monday. Regarding the issue of being summoned a second time – this has become cynical. It’s cynicism. Some political figures neither appeared nor paid bail, were jailed, and are still being summoned again. Khazaradze paid bail – he’s being summoned again. Gakharia, who did appear, is also being summoned again. 'Georgian Dream' has completely lost its credibility and has become a cynical government. This wasn’t so characteristic of them before. If Ivanishvili is now imitating Putin and wants to turn Georgia into Russia, we should remember that in the early years of his rule, Putin also spoke in democratic terms. But he knew he couldn’t hold on to power democratically, so he began taking steps like those our government is taking now. Putin has vast energy and military resources. He leads a dangerous and powerful country. Ivanishvili, when repeating the same methods, doesn’t even have 1% of those resources. This cynicism, this attack on democratic institutions, this hostility toward political parties and the media – it cannot last long."

When asked whether Georgian Dream is preparing to send Gakharia to prison, Dzidziguri responded:

"It’s not Georgian Dream, it’s Bidzina Ivanishvili preparing to do this. This is political retribution against a political opponent. It didn’t start yesterday or the day before, but the day Giorgi Gakharia resigned as Prime Minister and later formed an opposition party. From that day on, not a single speech or open letter from Ivanishvili passed without mentioning Gakharia in a negative context. The climax came during the election campaign, when he directly threatened to imprison him. That threat is now being carried out. Other opposition party leaders have already been arrested or are being prepared for arrest. The government has crossed all red lines. The accusation against Giorgi Gakharia is, in essence, an accusation for 'protecting Georgian interests.' This is a fabricated case. If what he did was so wrong and against the country’s interest, why was he appointed Prime Minister just two months later?"

He also spoke about his party's — For Georgia — participation in the upcoming local self-government elections and emphasized that it would be better for the opposition to run with a united front and joint candidates.

"Of course, joint candidates are better. Of course, going in with a united front is better. You win Tbilisi with 250,000 votes. That’s how many people have shown up at the protest rallies in Tbilisi. If these people can be convinced to vote, the government will lose Tbilisi. Whether they can be convinced remains to be seen. Refusing to try, thereby avoiding causing discomfort to the government — discomfort that might cost it the election in Tbilisi — how can that be justified? It would be better not to do this alone. There’s still time to decide on the format. No matter how unfair the elections may be, in my view, one should still participate. If the situation develops to a point where a boycott becomes necessary, what’s stopping us then? August 4 is the deadline for confirming participation. There is always value in fighting!"

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