“Georgian Dream” is using the court as a weapon to silence all those people who pose a challenge to their power,” – states the U.S. Helsinki Commission in its released statement.

The Helsinki Commission also notes that Elene Khoshtaria and other opposition leaders are facing even harsher charges.

“Elene Khoshtaria, the leader of the opposition party ‘Droa’, was sentenced to one year and six months in prison after being found guilty of ‘damaging property’ for writing ‘Russian Dream’ on Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze’s pre-election banner last September.

Khoshtaria and other opposition leaders now face the possibility of even harsher sentences – from 7 to 15 years in prison – for allegedly ‘crimes committed against the state’,” – the statement reads.