The Chairperson of Georgia’s Temporary Investigative Commission, Tea Tsulukiani, has announced plans to refer opposition leader Mamuka Khazaradze to the Prosecutor’s Office for criminal prosecution. The move follows Khazaradze’s refusal to appear before the commission, which is investigating alleged abuses during the rule of the United National Movement (UNM) government.
The commission, established by the ruling Georgian Dream party, convened on Tuesday to examine the case of LLC Magnat. Jemal Leonidze, the company’s owner, testified that the previous government had unlawfully appropriated his property and imprisoned him. He also implicated Khazaradze in the case.
Khazaradze, leader of the opposition Strong Georgia party, has dismissed the commission as a “circus” and reiterated his refusal to participate. “I certainly do not intend to go and participate in this circus! Despite the existence of the [judge Levan] Murusidze clan court subordinate to Bidzina [Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chair of the ruling party], I have never escaped justice. If there is something to resolve, let’s resolve it in court,” he wrote on social media.
Tsulukiani responded by citing an article of the Criminal Code, which stipulates that refusal to comply with the commission’s request can result in a fine or up to one year in prison. She also confirmed that Badri Japaridze, Khazaradze’s political ally and former TBC Bank executive, had been summoned regarding the Magnat case. Unlike Khazaradze, Japaridze has been given additional time to appear before the commission.
The ruling Georgian Dream party proposed the investigative commission on January 9, 2025, to scrutinize alleged crimes committed under the UNM government. Mamuka Mdinaradze, the GD Executive Secretary, said the commission’s scope included cases of prisoner torture, political violence, business intimidation, media appropriation, and accusations related to the August 2008 war with Russia. The commission was formally established on February 5 with an 83-member majority vote and is set to operate for three months.
The eight-member body is led by Tsulukiani, the former justice minister, and includes five Georgian Dream representatives. The opposition quota is held by members of People’s Power and European Socialists.
Georgian Dream had pledged to ban the UNM and deliver a strict political and legal verdict against it, a promise made during its bid for a constitutional majority in parliament during last year’s general elections – an outcome it ultimately failed to achieve.
