Brussels, 04/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 4 July, the EU reminded Georgia of its commitment to respect the rule of law, following the arrest in Tbilisi of opposition member Gigi Ugulava - who is accused of money-laundering.
“We are following closely” the arrest of Ugulava and “we note that Mr Ugulava (…) is the opposition's chief campaign organiser” for the ongoing municipal elections in Georgia, said a spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS). The EU “calls once more upon the Georgian authorities to ensure that the judicial process is fully independent, transparent, and free of political influence, in line with the commitments undertaken by Georgia when it signed the association agreement” with the European Union.
The EU also recalls the announcement of Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili “on 14 April of a moratorium on the arrest and prosecution of opposition figures during this election period”. Ugulava was the former mayor of Tbilisi and one of the close allies of Georgia's former president, Mikheil Saakashvili. He has been accused of financing the United National Movement's (UNM) election campaign with dirty money.
The UNM - which garnered 22% of the vote in the first round of municipal elections in June - is due to face off the Georgian Dream party in the second round of elections in July. Georgian Dream is part of the coalition in power, and came in top with around 50% of the votes. The UNM believes that Ugulava was arrested for political reasons. Before his arrest at Tbilisi airport, Ugulava told press that he was leaving for Kiev, in Ukraine, and would return to Georgia on Thursday. He had previously been charged in February 2013 for providing fictitious jobs to hundreds of UNM supporters. Since Georgian Dream won the parliamentary elections in 2012, several allies of Saakashvili - who is himself in exile in the USA - have been subjected to investigations and even imprisoned. On 27 June, Georgia signed its association agreement with the EU and the independence of Georgia's justice is one of the commitments linked to this agreement. (CG)