Georgian Opposition Rallying To Demand Deoligarchization, Saakashvili's Release

TBILISI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th April, 2023) The protest action of the Georgian opposition party United National Movement took place on Sunday in the center of Tbilisi on Rustaveli avenue to demand, among other things, a law on deoligarchization and the release of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who is currently imprisoned, according to the broadcasts by Georgian tv channels.

The rally has been held under the slogan "Together to Europe". The protesters also demanded the release of 21-year-old Lazare Grigoriadis, who had been detained in March during the protests against a controversial draft law on foreign agents. The demonstrators called for a dismissal of judges sanctioned by the United States over their alleged involvement in "significant corruption."

"The third demand is the release of Mikheil Saakashvili and (his lawyer) Nika Gvaramia, the fourth is the introduction of the deoligarchization law, judicial and election commission reform," the party's chairman, Levan Khabeishvili, said during the rally, as quoted in the broadcasts.

The action has finished, and the avenue is now open for traffic.

On Wednesday, US State Secretary Antony Blinken said that four of 14 members of the Georgian High Council of Justice � Mikheil Chinchaladze, Levan Murusidze, Irakli Shengelia and Valerian Tsertsvadze � had been barred from traveling to the United States due to their alleged involvement in corruption.

From March 6-10, mass protests occurred in Georgia against the law on foreign agents. On March 7, the Georgian parliament passed a bill in first reading requiring mandatory registration of entities receiving funding from abroad, which caused mass protests over the following two days. The police dispersed the demonstrations using tear gas and water cannons and carried out 133 detentions. The parliament voted against the bill at the second reading on March 10.