All political leaders who ‘collectively defeated’ Georgian Dream in 2024 will end up in prison or abroad, Japaridze

Zurab Japaridze, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, has accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of seeking to imprison or force out of the country political leaders who “collectively defeated it” in Georgia’s 2024 parliamentary election.

“How will they finish this? Every person, every political leader who collectively defeated the Georgian Dream in 2024 will either end up in prison or outside the country. That is their goal at this moment,” Japaridze said while commenting on the so-called sabotage case.

He claimed that the arrests were intended to send a message to Western countries that the government would either reach an agreement with them on its own terms or imprison or force abroad the political figures with whom they communicate.

Japaridze also accused the authorities of clearing the political field for other political players who have long argued that established opposition figures should step aside and be replaced by new faces.

“They are leaving them the ball and the field. It is clear that some will take it,” Japaridze said.