Opposition leader: sabotage charges mirror Soviet-era practices

Deputy secretary-general of Georgia’s opposition party, the United National Movement, Irakli Pavlenishvili, has criticised the use of sabotage charges, saying they reflect a pattern reminiscent of the Soviet era.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Pavlenishvili said that, in recent years, the real “sabotage” in Georgia had been carried out by former Prime Minister and ruling party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, who, he claimed, halted the country’s strategic partnership with the United States and stalled European integration.

He added that opposition figures were being targeted under the same law, citing their participation in protests and their engagement with Western partners. “It appears that every opposition member potentially faces the threat of this article being applied to them, as it was during the Soviet Union,” Pavlenishvili said.