On November 24, Zurab Japaridze, the chairman of Girchi - More Freedom, said that Salome Zourabichvili, the President of Georgia, has the leverage to pardon Mtavari Arkhi TV CEO Nika Gvaramia. However, she will not use it without an agreement with Bidzina Ivanishvili [former Prime Minister of Georgia].
Japaridze explained, "Zourabichvili makes correct assessments in many cases, however, she does not confront Ivanishvili. As long as there are political prisoners in the country, there will be no status. In the statement of Charles Michel's cabinet, I saw that too diplomatic language is used, while when we go to Brussels, there are much more direct conversations. As for the position of the President, he has the leverage of pardon, but I do not believe that she will try to use it without an agreement with Ivanishvili. In general, in many cases, the President makes many correct assessments. However, when it comes to the main issue, she never confronts Ivanishvili and never puts the responsibility on Ivanishvili. Here she portrays the situation as if the country's problems, including those related to European integration, are the responsibility of Gharibashvili and Kobakhidze, not Ivanishvili, which is not true."
He also responded to the statement made by the President of Georgia regarding Mikheil Saakashvili, according to which, if there is a relevant expert opinion, the court should decide Saakashvili. "I do not know why Salome Zourabichvili needed this statement, but in any case, if the court decides that she does not like it, she can say so, but she puts the responsibility on Murusidze-Chinchaladze and the court, not Ivanishvili. In no case will Ivanishvili be blamed for what is happening. Salome Zourabichvili says a lot of truth in her statements. However, this truth ends when the issue comes to Ivanishvili's responsibility," Japaridze concluded.
Earlier, Caucasus Watch reported that in a letter to President Salome Zourabichvili dated November 7th, 12 members of the European Parliament pleaded with her to use her authority to commute the sentence of Nika Gvaramia. While acknowledging that Georgia's journey to European integration has not been easy, the MEPs underscored that the great majority of the Georgian people firmly support it. They emphasized that the historic opportunity for Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia was granted due to the immense sacrifices that Ukraine is making to defend the values on which also EU is built, against the Russian war of aggression, while pointing out that Georgia's path to EU candidate status has opened recently with its European perspective.
