Georgian president denies plan to pardon Saakashvili and Gvaramia as “speculation”

President of Georgia said she wouldn’t pardon Saakashvili and Gvaramia

“No and never! I don’t feel sorry for anyone!”- this status was published on the Facebook page of Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili after she stated some time ago that neither Saakashvili, nor Gvaramia, nor Ivanishvili should interfere with the European future of Georgia.

Salome Zurabishvili stated that there is no alternative to Georgia’s European future in a video message broadcast from Brussels. She criticized the statements of members of the Georgian government regarding the resolution of the European Parliament. The President called the statements “very unfortunate”.

"Worth nothing", "Fake" — Georgia on Brussels' resolution on EU member status

Georgian authorities responded to the European Parliament resolution by calling it ‘worthelss’, ‘unfounded’ and ‘based on fakes’

Salome Zurabishvili said she would like to visit France, Poland and Ukraine, because “Georgia should be grateful to Ukraine” for the accelerated EU accession process. But these visits were blocked by the Georgian government.

The President also said that the statements of government members do not allow her to effectively defend the issue of granting Georgia the status of an EU candidate:

“Article 78 of the Constitution obliges everyone to do everything possible to advance this process. I do not believe that Georgia has any other future than the European one.

I think that no one should interfere in this process – neither Saakashvili, nor Gvaramia, nor Bidzina Ivanishvili. No one will be the price of the future of our children. To do this, I will return to Georgia and will protect this future there”, the President said.

After this statement, a discussion began on social media on whether President Zurabishvili was going to pardon the imprisoned ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili and Nika Gvaramia, director of the opposition Main Channel TV channel.

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Mikheil Saakashvili was arrested by the Georgian authorities in November 2021. Several criminal cases have been initiated against him. Nika Gvaramia was arrested on May 16 this year. He was sentenced to 3,5 for using a company car for family needs.

The resolution of the European Parliament, among many other cases, mentions the cases of Mikheil Saakashvili and Nika Gvaramia.

In particular, the European Parliament condemns the sentence of Nika Gvaramia, director of the main opposition TV channel, Main Channel, and shares the call of Reporters Without Borders to review the sentence.

As for Mikheil Saakashvili, the European Parliament resolution calls on the Georgian authorities to release former President Mikheil Saakashvili from prison on humanitarian grounds for proper medical treatment.

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As for Mikheil Saakashvili, the President has repeatedly and clearly stated that she is not going to pardon him. So far there has been no talk of pardoning Nika Gvaramia.

On June 9, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Georgia. With this document, the European Parliament called on the EU institutions to work on granting Georgia the status of an EU candidate. However, on the condition that the Georgian government listens to the recommendations and meets all the criteria. He also called on the European Council to consider imposing personal sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili.

“This resolution is worthless”, “the European Parliament has become a victim of fakes”, “European parliamentarians want to open a second front in Georgia”, the government of Georgia responded to the critical resolution of the European Parliament with such statements.

Why does EU call for sanctions against oligarch Ivanishvili and what would it mean for Georgia?

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Georgia calling on EU member states to impose personal sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili

The European Parliament is not a decision-making body on the path to EU membership, but its resolution is an important signal to the European Commission.

Now Georgia is waiting for the conclusion of the European Commission, which, according to a JAMnews source, should be made public on June 17.

The European Commission prepares an opinion based on the EU questionnaire. Georgia answered approximately 2,700 questions from the European Commission. The content of the questionnaire

After that, at the summit on June 24-25, the leaders of the EU member states will decide whether the EU will grant the status of a candidate country to Georgia.