Badri Japaridze - The trial of political leaders on unimaginable, fabricated charges is a fight against statehood - the closure of the hearing is an indication that they do not want the public to know what lies behind the process
The closure of the trial is an indication that the organizers of the trial do not want the public to know what lies behind the trial, - Badri Japaridze, one of the leaders of Lelo-Strong Georgia, said regarding the closure of the court hearings in the so-called sabotage case.
"What we are observing and participating in, the trial of political leaders, on completely unimaginable, fabricated charges, is a direct fight against statehood. I cannot imagine any greater damage than what our state is currently receiving due to such a fabricated process. The process continues with unimaginable falsity. Unfortunately, today we once again heard a statement from the prosecutor's office representatives, which have no evidence.
It is unfortunate that the people who are planning this process are directly undermining our state. As for the closure of the process, this is an indication that the organizers of the process do not want the public to know what falsity is behind this process," Japaridze said.
For information, the Prosecutor General’s Office has charged Mikheil Saakashvili, Giorgi Vashadze, Nika Gvaramia, Nika Melia, Zurab Girchi Japaridze, Elene Khoshtaria, Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze in the so-called sabotage case.
More specifically, Giorgi Vashadze and Zurab “Girchi” Japaridze are charged under Article 318(1) and Article 319 of the Criminal Code, covering sabotage and assisting a foreign country in hostile activities. This carries a sentence of 7–15 years imprisonment.
Elene Khoshtaria is charged under Articles 318(1), 319, and 321¹(1), covering sabotage, providing material resources for the crime, and assisting a foreign country in hostile activities.
Nika Gvaramia, Nika Melia, Mamuka Khazaradze, and Badri Japaridze are charged under Article 318(1), covering sabotage.
Mikheil Saakashvili is charged under Article 317, which covers calls to violently change Georgia’s constitutional order or overthrow state power.
As a preventive measure, Giorgi Vashadze and Zurab “Girchi” Japaridze have bail set at 30,000 GEL each, while Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze have bail set at 1 million GEL each.
