Strong Georgia opposition discusses ‘democratic decline’, ‘political prisoners’ in meeting with OSCE chief

The Strong Georgia opposition party has raised concerns over Georgia’s democratic trajectory and the treatment of “political prisoners” arrested during pro-European protests in a meeting with the Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Tbilisi.

Party leader Badri Japaridze said the talks focused on what he described as “complete democratic regression,” highlighting the government’s failure to implement OSCE/ODIHR election recommendations and its continued imprisonment of opposition figures.

“We talked about political prisoners who are illegally imprisoned, and the government’s refusal to act on OSCE findings,” Japaridze said. “Instead, new laws were adopted that go directly against those recommendations.”

The opposition also addressed the ongoing Russian occupation of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali regions, calling for greater OSCE involvement amid mounting security concerns. Japaridze expressed satisfaction with the meeting and said the OSCE had shown interest in independently assessing the current situation.