Georgian Dream MP welcomes legal action against former minister Gia Baramidze

Georgian Dream MP Levan Machavariani has welcomed the legal action taken against former interior and defence minister Gia Baramidze, who was arrested on treason-related charges following controversial remarks concerning the war in Abkhazia.

Machavariani said Baramidze’s statements were both disrespectful to those who fought in the conflict and damaging to the state.

“It is a terrible show of disrespect towards the heroes who fought in the war in Abkhazia, and it is very good that the remarks have prompted a legal response,” Machavariani said.

He accused Baramidze of launching what he described as a “very dirty campaign,” which he said was later continued by opposition figures Nika Gvaramia and Salome Samadashvili and ultimately reinforced by former president Mikheil Saakashvili.

“Baramidze launched a very dirty campaign, which was then continued by Mr Nika Gvaramia and Ms Samadashvili, and later completed by Mr Saakashvili,” Machavariani said.

“He made those remarks deliberately and they were genuinely hostile. On the one hand, they represent a terrible disrespect towards the heroes who fought in the war in Abkhazia, and on the other, they are anti-state statements. It is very good that they have been followed by a legal response.”

Georgia’s Prosecutor’s Office has charged Gia Baramidze, a senior member of the opposition United National Movement and a former interior and defence minister, with treason in the form of sabotage.

He was detained on the basis of a court order and faces up to four years in prison if convicted.