Georgia jails 11 in crackdown on pro-EU movement

TBILISI, Georgia (AFP) — Georgia on Wednesday jailed 11 pro-European protesters for two years each, a news agency reported, the latest in what critics see as a spiraling crackdown on dissent in the Caucasus country.

Georgia, an official candidate to join the EU, has faced months of political turmoil since disputed parliamentary elections in October, when the ruling Georgian Dream party declared victory.

Opposition forces accuse the party of rigging the vote, drifting toward authoritarian rule and aligning more closely with Moscow — allegations it rejects.

A Tbilisi court found 11 demonstrators — including celebrity film actor Andro Chichinadze — guilty of “group actions that disrupted public order” during anti-government rallies last year, Georgia’s Interpress news agency reported.

They were handed two-year jail terms.

The ruling came a day after a court sentenced eight demonstrators to between 2 years and 30 months in jail on similar charges.

It also followed a string of arrests of opposition leaders, rights activists and journalists that has raised concern in the West.

Tens of thousands have rallied in Tbilisi for months, although turnout has waned amid what protesters call a climate of repression.

Ahead of last year’s elections, Georgian Dream announced plans to outlaw all major opposition parties.

Brussels has said democratic backsliding is derailing Georgia’s longstanding EU membership bid, which is enshrined in the country’s constitution and supported — according to opinion polls — by some 80% of the population.

The United States and several European countries have imposed sanctions on some Georgian Dream officials.

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By Agence France-Presse