Kramer on Gvaramia’s arrest: gov’t abusing judiciary to prosecute opponents

Authorities are abusing the judiciary to prosecute political opponents,  David Kramer, a former State Department official and director of global policy at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, stated in an interview with VOA on the arrest of Nika Gvaramia, a founder of the opposition-minded Mtavari channel.

 

He suggested that the court ruling was “clearly politically motivated.”

 

“I think his association with Rustavi 2, his political stances and his criticism of the government have brought him to the attention of the authorities. They [the Georgian government] are abusing the judiciary, the justice system, by issuing a politically motivated verdict against a member of the opposition. This is the signature of the current government since Mr.Garibashvili returned to the post of Prime Minister last February,” Kramer said.

 

Kramer claimed that Gvaramia’s arrest also affected the strategic partnership between Georgia and the United States.

 

“This [arrest] is neither the first case nor I fear it will be the last. The US Embassy has issued a very strong statement condemning the incident and saying it raises questions about Georgia ‘s commitment to Western, Euro – orientation and integration. So this is a very bad development,” Kramer stated.

 

Gvaramia was sentenced to three years and six months in prison by Tbilisi City Court on Monday for abuse of power while serving as a director general of Rustavi 2 TV.

 

He was sentenced for causing a $2,239,572 damage to Rustavi 2 between 2015-2019. 

 

In 2019 the channel’s 100 percent of shares was returned to former owner Kibar Khalvashi by the European Court of Human Rights and Gvaramia was dismissed from the position he occupied since 2012.